𝐥𝐢𝐚 - semi inactive

He was so jealous. He had been watching you, like a creep, all night. You knew, his friends knew, your friends knew, hell even the guy shamelessly flirting with you probably knew. It didn't matter because Jeno was annoyed, who did he think he was coming to his friends party and flirting with you. It was eating him alive, and you knew that as well. But you didn’t pay any mind to it because you knew at the end of the day he wasn’t gonna do anything, or was he?

You shifted your gaze back to the man who stood in front of you, Mark Lee was his name. From what he had blabbed to you within five minutes you knew that was from Canada, his best friend's name was Donghyuck, and he had a really cool sledding story. “So like I said he literally rammed into our sled!” Mark continued, animating the sled crash with his empty cup and hands. You gasped, trying to seem like you were paying attention the whole time. “Yeah so, we were like, what’s your deal man? But he told us he lost control of the sled so I guess it’s all chill” He finished, making you laugh softly. “I mean I’m glad! That sounds like a good time though.” you said, smiling up at him.

You knew he was just telling you stories about himself to keep talking to you, but you didn't mind at all. He was a cutie and besides you needed to distract yourself from Jeno who was all over you one second, and the next he couldn’t care less about you. You knew you deserved better and maybe that was Mark. Or maybe it wasn’t, sometimes you couldn’t tell what was good for you and what wasn’t, Jeno being a clear example. Mark smiled down at you, taking a sip of his drink, “You know, you could come with. We’re going next month” you smiled, raising your eyebrow slightly at his offer. 

“That’s a kind gesture but I don’t know how to sled” you said, taking a sip of your own drink but scrunching your nose as the taste. It was some sort of weird combination that Chenle made, always something with him. Mark nodded, thinking to himself for a couple seconds. “Doesn’t matter” He said, making you furrow your brows, “and why’s that Mark? Do tell” you replied, smiling softly as he smiled back at you. The vibe between you two was flirty, you knew he was flirting the second he approached you because in all honesty, he wasn’t very good at hiding it. “I can just teach you, babe,” he finally said, a smile on his face. Your cheeks flushed softly, feeling your smile grow, “You’re too kind Mark seriously you don’t need to” you finally said making Mark smile more. 

Just before he spoke, a voice spoke up from behind you. “No man, really you are” in an instant you knew the voice, and his tone, always so icy. Jeno didn’t often talk to people like that, he was pretty reserved, but when he was angry he got livid, which he was right now. You turned to see him, standing right next to you and across from Mark, smiling smugly at him. “You know thanks for keeping my girl company while I was getting us drinks, appreciate it.” He smiled at Mark a little bit too fakely, the whole interaction causing the boy across from you to stutter out apologies. “God sorry man- I uh- didn’t know she was your girlfriend.” He smiled awkwardly at Jeno then you, making you frown softly. He had no reason to apologize, Jeno only wanted to acknowledge you when it was convenient for him. “Sorry again, I’ll leave you two alone” He said rather quickly, stumbling on his words as he scurried off to his friends. 

“What the fuck Jeno?” You turned to him, now even more angry at him than you were before. Before this party, Jeno had told you to keep your distance, something about the fact his friends could never know what was going on between you two, like he was ashamed of you. The two of you have had this argument multiple times since starting your ‘arrangement’ Jeno claims it would be a big deal but you knew that it didn’t matter to any of his stupid friends. Yet despite all of the shit he gave you, here he was, acting like he was your boyfriend because he got a little bit insecure. “C’mon babe,” He said in the same tone Mark did, mocking him. “Don't cause a scene” He muttered, smiling down at you, making you roll your eyes in response. 

“Fuck off.” you mumbled, not sure if it was the alcohol speaking but nonetheless you grabbed the drink from his hand and walked past him, leading the way to the backyard where you could be alone and in peace. Jeno watched you leave then scoffed and shook his head, following you outside. “Yn! C’mon don’t be like this!” He yelled out as you walked further and further away from the house, and him. He followed you until you were at the back fence of the backyard and had no choice but to face him. You clenched your fists and turned around to face him.

As always, he had that puppy dog look on his face. The one where he seemed apologetic and that he loved you but you could see right through his facade. After all, the two of you had this fling going on for three months now, so you weren't going to fall for his manipulative tricks this time, “Why’d you do that Jeno” you knew the answer, you just wanted to hear him come up with a bullshit excuse, he was always good at that. 

He sighed out, running his hand through his hair, to anyone else it would look like you fucked up and he was just a bystander. “Just looking out for you baby, like I always do.” He smiled softly, walking closer to you to try and break the gap, instead you backed away. He noticed this and stopped, furrowing his brows, “Yn I care about you, don’t do that” he mumbled, his lips in a soft frown now. You looked in his eyes, trying to break through and see if he was lying or not but he had always shut himself out to you, always. 

You pressed your lips together in a thin line, then sighed, you could feel yourself giving into him. He always had a way of speaking to you, it was weird. He never said what he meant, especially with his feelings, and you could never tell how much of that was true. He lied to you, about how he felt, about missing ‘dates’, and everything in between. It was hard staying with Jeno because you knew it wasn't good for you, yet you couldn’t find it in yourself to just leave. 

“Yeah I know, I just don't know, you have a weird way of showing it Jen” you breathed out, looking down at the grass, unable to hold eye contact with him. Jeno sighed softly and walked closer to you slowly, as if testing the waters. Once he noticed you weren’t backing away he walked close enough so you and him were just an arms length apart. He reached out, holding your chin softly, forcing you to look up at him. He locked eyes with you and only smiled softly. 

“I know baby, but it's always you for me.” His words made you smile, but they meant nothing. You knew that, so why did your heart skip a beat when he said that? Why did you suddenly feel a chance for hope, for you and Jeno? Jeno could read you like a book because he must've sensed that your mind was racing. He shook his head, “Quit doing that, drifting off in thought. Just focus on me” he said, halting your thoughts for just a moment. 

Now, he was close enough to where you could feel his cool breath against your nose, lips just centimeters apart. You could see him locking down at your lips and before he could lean in to kiss you, you put your hand on his chest. “What is it?” he said, this time sounding a bit more passive aggressive rather than the gentle tone he was using earlier. “You’re not my boyfriend Jen” you mumbled, making him look at your lips. “And you're not my girlfriend,” he said without missing a beat, “has that ever stopped us?” he looked into your eyes, eyebrow slightly raised. 

He was right, that didn't ever stop the both of you. Neither of you stopped to think about the fact that you weren't in a relationship. Maybe you even preferred it that way, you knew Jeno sure as hell did. He loved having you without all the unnecessary hassles that he would have to deal with because he was your boyfriend. 

You shook your head, making him smile softly. He leaned in again to kiss you, this time you let him. You let the familiar taste of his lips take over your own. It was intoxicating how much he drew you in, pulling you away from your own consciousness. He tilted his head slightly, kissing you at a different angle now. He pulled back, Jeno was always the first to pull back. 

He smiled down at you and backed away, “come over tonight?” He mumbled, you nodded in response. You felt him lean down to kiss your cheek before he headed back inside the house. You watched as he started talking to his friends like normal, not even caring that you were still outside, cold. Weirdly enough none of Jenos kisses made you feel warm, but maybe that’s just how things were meant to be. 

You sat on the couch, refreshing your text conversation with Jeno, your purse in your other hand. The two of you were supposed to go out tonight, as promised. You were stupid to believe Jenos empty promises after all this time. “Let me guess, he stood you up again?” Yerim said, shutting her bedroom door behind her. You looked to her and sighed, shutting your phone and putting it face down. 

You and Yerim had been roommates for around a year, the two of you started getting closer around the time you and Jeno started your ‘arrangement’ and since then you’ve confided in her since you can’t tell anyone else, sworn to secrecy thanks to Jeno. “I don’t even know why I believed him,” you watched as Yerim sat next to you on the couch, sinking into it. “You say this everytime,” she sighed.

She glanced at you, almost feeling sorry for you. Of course she felt sorry for you, it was hard being with someone who gave you everything yet nothing at the very same time. Yet she could never figure out what made you stay, was it the sex? Or was it the idea of someone loving you? Was it even love? You looked her way, already sensing what she was going to say. Instead of saying her thoughts, Yerim held your head and rested it on her shoulder, patting your head gently. Her hand pushed some of your hair out of your way, still patting you gently. The two of you sat like that for a good half hour before the two of you started getting up to go to your own respective rooms.

As you got up Yerim looked at you, “Yn?” she mumbled, making you turn around to face her. She hesitated before speaking, “you deserve better than that” Yerim said, smiling softly at you. You smiled back and nodded, letting her pat your shoulder as she departed to her room. You stood in the living room for a couple minutes, staring at the wall. 

You deserve way better.

But you weren’t going to let yourself have that. Why did you love Jeno so deeply and desperately when he couldn't care less? All you were to him was his toy to play with when he wanted and dispose of you when he was bored. Yet you always ran back, why? Was it his soft kisses? Or was it the way he held you in his arms? Maybe it was the way he looks at you when you’re both alone? Or is that just you looking at him? Has he ever spared you a glance? Will he ever spare you a glance? 

Your phone buzzed on the couch. You looked down, groaning as you realize you’re still wearing the same clothes you were supposed to go out in. You picked up your phone, seeing a text you had seen several times before. 

jen [11:57 p.m.] : outside your place babe :) 

The next thing you knew you were outside, walking with Jeno side by side in a park near your apartment. According to him, he was busy with something and as per usual you didn’t question it. Maybe you were scared that if you asked him too many questions he would leave you because you were too much work. Maybe he was just with you for the convenience of it all, intertwining friend groups, same school, not too far apart. 

Your hands were intertwined as you walked, Jeno broke the silence first. “Saw your sculpture in the workshop, it looks good,” he said, looking ahead at the path in front of you two. So that meant he was actually busy, you thought. “Thanks, I didn’t think you noticed,” you replied, looking down at the ground the two of you walked on together, your feet in perfect sync. Jeno shifted his gaze to look at you, smiling. “I notice everything,” making you look up at him, smiling as well. 

This was why things were so confusing. Jeno would act like he cared about you and cherished you but he never wanted to date you, and he certainly never did this infront of others. It seemed as though your relationship was covered in a fog of mystery even to you, ironic isn't it? Not even knowing what kind of relationship you were in. 

“It’s getting late Jen,” you finally said, making his smile raise a little. “We could head back to mine? Get some sleep?” He looked at you, still smiling. Of course, what else would you do other than agree? 

You stared at the sculpture sitting right in front of you, the look it was giving you seemed judgemental. As if it was judging you for being at the workshop at lunchtime while everyone else was taking their well deserved breaks. You sighed, carving away at the sculpture. You didn’t even know what you were trying to make but you knew you wanted it to be good for your final presentation.

It determined whether or not you can go to an art school and you weren’t going to let any distractions get in your way, not even Jeno. You didn’t believe in yourself though, in terms of the sculpture and the distractions.

You heard the door to the workshop open and close, soft footsteps grew closer to where you were sitting, then suddenly they stopped. This caused you to look up from your sculpture to see Mark, standing 6 feet away from you. “Oh I.. did you tell me you went here?” He stuttered, trying to get his words out. You smiled softly and nodded, making him frown softly. “Sorry, I got pretty wasted that night,” he said, walking over to sit on the table right in front of you. 

“It’s alright,” you replied, still smiling softly. Mark watched you as you went back to sculpting diligently, he smiled at you. “So does your boyfriend go here?” he broke the silence, not stuttering anymore. You looked at him and furrowed your brows, then it hit you. “Me and Jeno aren’t dating he just.. does that for some reason,” you shook your head slightly and now Mark's interest was piqued.

“So you’re single?” he asked once more, making you smile now. “Yes Mark, I am,” you said again, looking at him. He jumped off the table and leaned over your table. “So are you single enough to go for coffee? Maybe this weekend?” he seemed more confident than before, it was working because you were swayed to say yes. 

“I’ll get back to you on that,” you said, making him smile now. “How will you get back to me if you don’t have my number?” he pulled out his phone all too confidently and slid it your way. “You’re smooth you know that?” you said, picking it up and putting in your number, giving it back to him. 

He smiled down at his phone then looked at you. “We could get lunch now if you want,” just before you could respond, a bag was placed on the table catching both yours and Mark's attention. “Hi, am I interrupting something?” Jeno said, looking between you and Mark. Mark leaned back and looked at Jeno. “Nah, just dropped by to say hi to Yn,” he said, picking up his bag then looking at you. “I’ll text you?” making you nod, waving goodbye as he left. 

You saw Mark shut the door then looked to Jeno who sat down next to you at the table, silently opening the bag of food. “What are you doing here Jen,” you sighed, putting down the sculpting tool. “I think a question that’s more important is why are you skipping lunch,” he said, taking out a takeout box of food then placing it in front of you. You looked at the box then at him, he had already begun eating from his box of food. You sighed, reaching in the bag to grab utensils and began eating. The two of you ate in silence, just the sound of the wind blowing from outside could be heard. 

You weren’t sure why Jeno did things like this, acting sweet. It left the impression that he really did care for you and he wasn’t just lying, that made things so much more confusing than they already were. For some reason, even after seeing Jeno for so long, you couldn’t tell the difference between if he actually meant it or if he was just toying with you and as per usual, this time wasn't any different.

You put down your fork, pushing the food away slightly and going back to your carving, not sparing Jeno a glance. But that didn’t go unnoticed, Jeno set his fork down as well and looked at you with furrowed brows. “Just eat baby,” he said, still watching you. You wanted to roll your eyes but chose not to. “I can always eat when I get home, so if this is all you came to do then you can leave,” you replied, focusing on the shape you were making with the clay, but your focus was wavering. 

Jeno scoffed, clearly annoyed now. “Are you mad at me? What’d I even do,” you ignored him, continuing to mold the clay into the shape you wanted, which you weren’t even sure what you wanted. Jeno watched as you continued to sculpt, not saying anything to him. He nodded and sucked his teeth, continuing to eat his food. You glanced at him a couple times but he was too busy on his phone to even notice you looking his way. 

You weren’t even sure why you were upset. No you knew, you just didn’t want to acknowledge it. Jeno wasn’t normally a protective person but for some reason when it came to Mark he couldn’t help himself. Maybe he knew that Mark was a good guy, nothing like him. That Mark would treat you better than he ever could or maybe they’re just one in the same you’re doomed no matter what. 

“Can you pass me the tool to the right of you?” you said, breaking the silence. Jeno glanced at you and handed you the tool you wanted. “So now you're speaking to me?” he crossed his arms, looking at you fully. “Stop being like that Jen,” you muttered, trying to fix the lines with your thumb, smoothing out the base of the heart. “You’re the one who kept ignoring me,” he scoffed, watching as you carved away. He always liked you when you concentrated on something, told you you looked pretty.

He reached over, his hand pushing away some stray hairs from your face, hairs that were covering your eyesight. You looked at him and for some reason your heart softened, why’d it always do that with him. “I was just looking out for you pretty,” he said, still looking in your eyes, You nodded, sighing softly. “Yeah, I guess I’m just stressed,” you cleared your throat, looking back at the base of the heart. The idea you had wasn’t executing perfectly but that wasn’t why you were annoyed with Jeno. 

You were annoyed with the hold he had over you. That even if he acted sweet now and pushed you away later you would still run back to him like a lovesick puppy. Weirdly enough there wasn’t any love there and if there was you would never admit it for your own sake. 

“Tell me what you’re making,” Jeno looked at you, propping his head up with his hand that was on the table. “It’s supposed to be a heart, and I don’t know where to go from there,” you turned fully to him, sighing. He smiled softly, admiring you. “You’ll figure it out baby, everything you make is pretty,” he said, smiling as he spoke. 

You smiled softly and shook your head, turning your body back around to clean up your area. “Yeah okay,” you scoffed softly, putting away the tools and packaging the leftover clay. “It’s true,” Jeno furrowed his brows, helping you clean up by picking up your empty food containers and throwing them out. “Sweet talking me won’t do much Jen,” You laughed softly, walking over to the fridge to put the clay in. 

Jeno leaned against the table, watching as you walked back over to it. Just before you could walk past him, he held your wrist, pulling you into him. “Jeno c’mon,” you scoffed, trying to tug your wrist out of his hold but he only smiled. “Sweet talking won’t work so what if I kiss you, will you still be mad pretty?” he mumbled, pushing some stray hairs away. “No, I won’t,” you breathed out, making him smile again. 

He leaned in, kissing your lips ever so gently. His hand moved to your waist, holding you tight and close to him. This time, your kiss was soft and gentle, unlike your usual kisses which we almost rushed. You felt him smile against your lips, making you smile as well. You could feel why he was doing this, to keep you. You knew deep down the way his hands moved up and down your waist that he was almost holding you so close so he didn’t lose you, specifically to Mark. This made you feel validated in some weird way, that he could regret losing you. Maybe you’re more important to him than you thought. 

You pulled back, opening your eyes to see him smiling at you. “Still mad?” he muttered, you shaking your head and stepping back. His eyes followed your body as you went to grab your bag, walking back over to him to grab his hand. “So? What now?” you said, the two of you walking hand in hand out of the workshop. 

Jeno thought for a couple minutes, gripping your hand softly as you two walked out of the building. The sun was setting now which meant that the only people left on campus would be the ones who were in different buildings. Which was good for Jeno because you were away from anyone who could possibly know either of you. “We could grab dinner, haven’t been out with you in so long baby,” he looked at you and you raised your eyebrow. “Well whose fault is that?” you questioned, tilting your head, making him laugh and roll his eyes playfully. “Lead the way,” you said, making him smile and grip your hand tighter as you two made your way to his car. 

There was a side to Jeno not many people knew, this was one of them. The soft light from his bedside lamp lit up the room with a soft yellow glow. You laid in his bed, in his shirt, watching him as he sat on the floor, cutting glass. From what he had told you, which as per usual was very little, he was making a glass stained piece for a project and right now he had to cut the glass into the shapes he wanted so he could weld them later.

This side of Jeno was soft and domestic, but this side never left the very four walls of his apartment. It almost felt as if it was reserved only to you, that made you feel good. Good that something about him was a secret only for you to know, that only you got the privilege to see him like this. You moved over to where he was leaning against the bed and began playing with his hair, scratching his scalp softly with his nails. 

“What are you doing pretty? Told you not to get out of bed in case there’s shards,” he mumbled, a soft smile could be heard in his voice. “Not going anywhere, just wanted to check on you,” you said, playing with his hair. He smiled, looking up at you. “Getting bored?” he said, looking in your eyes and you shook your head, Jeno set down the glass and turned around so he could face you properly. 

He looked in your eyes, taking in your facial features. For some reason it felt like he was seeing you for the first time, you smiled softly under his gaze. “Why are you looking at me like that,” you mumbled, making Jeno smile some more. “Just admiring my pretty baby,” he muttered, making you smile softly. You brushed some strays out of his way and kissed his cheek, then leaned back to lay in bed. He gave you one last look before turning around and going back to cutting the glass, you turned over in his bed. There’s this saying, that once you’re in someone's bedroom there's a chance you can take a glance in their mind. For some reason that wasn’t the case with Jeno’s room.

You had been here a million times but yet you were as close to him as you would be to an acquaintance. The two of you knew each other but sometimes it felt like you were just two distant strangers. Maybe that was why you felt so okay to let him in in some way, he didn’t know you. All you knew about each other at first was the two of you didn’t need something committed and that was it. 

At first your relationship was just sex, the two of you just wanted a casual hookup. But within the past month it’s turned into something more, maybe that was what you just made up yourself to think. Instead of Jeno calling you up for a quick fuck, the two of you would sit in his apartment with takeout watching some movie, or just spent your weekends with one another. Maybe the reason why you had grown so comfortable with Jeno is because he in fact didn’t know you, that is until you let him in. 

You break out of your thoughts and focus again on Jenos room, a place you had seen countless times. Everything in his room was mostly dull, the color scheme of it all. It looks like a normal guys room but at the same time it doesn't. Your eyes fall on his desk, where his monitor is set up as well as a small section of polaroids. They were of him and his friends, Jaemin and Renjun.

You had met Jaemin and Renjun on separate occasions, not attached with Jeno. Jaemin was this guy that your friend, Chenle, knew and Renjun worked at the school's information desk with Yerim. They were both sweet and reserved, their personalities aligning with Jenos. Jeno had met some of your friends as well, of course not attached to you. Even if your and Jenos relationship had changed, one thing remained clear. No one knew about the two of you. 

It was something Jeno established the first night, it bothered you. Even when you weren’t close with him, something about it rubbed you the wrong way. What was so wrong with his friends knowing he was with you? Was he ashamed of you? Were you too embarrassing to even be seen with him? DId he not value you?  

“What’s going on in your head baby?” you jumped, feeling Jenos arm snake around your waist. You turned to face him, not even realizing the whole time you were thinking he had already cleaned up. “Nothing,” you mumbled, making him smile. “Liar.” He breathed out, still smiling. 

He leaned in to pepper soft kisses on your collarbone, you giggled softly, pushing him away by putting your hand on his chest. “Oh?” he teased, looking at you. “You wanna push me away hm?” he smiled, hands reaching up your waist. “C’mon Jen don’t- stop!” you burst out in giggles as he started tickling you. 

After being with you for so long, Jeno began to uncover parts of you he wouldn’t have before. Like the spots where you were the most ticklish. You started laughing louder, tears welling in your eyes. Jeno began to giggle with you, your leg was over his hip so you did the most rational thing and grabbed his wrists, flipping the two of you over so you were straddling him now. 

Your faces were flushed and the two of you were out of breath. Jeno smiled up at you, “c’mon let my wrists go babe,“ Jeno mumbled, making your cheeks turn pink as you let his wrists go, unsure where to put your hands now. Jeno shifted to sit up against the headboard, his hands resting at the curve of your hips. He kept eye contact with you, still straddling him. “Quit looking at me,” you muttered, covering your face with your hands. Your hands felt cold against your face which was now red and burning up from embarrassment. 

You didn’t even know what you could’ve been nervous about, it was Jeno, the same guy who's seen you naked on multiple occasions. Jeno only smiled, reaching to take your hands off your face. “You’re so shy now, what about earlier?” he smiled, making your cheeks turn pink as you groaned and hid your face in the crook of his neck. Jeno laughed softly, holding your waist.

The two of you sat like that for a couple minutes, Jenos thumb drawing small circles on your back. You picked your head up to look at him once more, he smiled, reaching to push some hair away from your face. There was this look Jeno always had before kissing you. It was hard to pinpoint if it was love or lust but either way he gave you a look, then looked at your lips, then back at your eyes. Jeno leaned in, locking your lips with his. As the two of you kissed, you felt his hands moving up and down your waist, one of them reaching up to get lost in your hair. 

He tilted his head slightly, your hands going up from his chest to his neck, playing with the hair that prickled your fingers. He laid you down on the bed, moving down to your neck. He continued to pepper soft kisses on your neck, making you smile. He moved back up to your face and kissed your face all over, making you giggle as the two of you entangled your limbs in sheets that smelled of him. 

You sketched away in your notebook, trying to create a good basis for your final project. If you weren’t stressed out about it before you sure as hell were now because your instructor told everyone the deadline now had no exceptions, it was to be presented in the school art show in two weeks. That meant you had two weeks to create a masterpiece from just a block of clay in order to get into a graduate art program. 

“Give me the lighter, c’mon!” Hyunjin shrieked, jumping up to grab the lighter from Chenle who kept reaching his hand up so she couldn’t grab it. You looked up from your sketchbook to see them jumping around on the rooftop, next to you Heejin sat, scrolling through some dating app. “Ugh fine!” Chenle groaned, passing the lighter to Hyunjin who only smiled and lit her cigarette. 

This was the norm for you, sitting on the rooftop of the art building with your friends. You had met Heejin and Hyunjin during your freshman year, Hyunjin was friends with Chenle and he became the group's single male friend. You had begun getting closer to Yerim because she was your roommate freshman year and that made up your small circle of friends. You had talked to other mutual friends here and there but never like you did with these four. 

Heejin put her phone down, sighing loudly so someone could hear her. You glanced at her and smiled softly. “Spit it out,” you said, still not looking up from your sketchbook. “Someone set me up with a guy!” she groaned, making Chenle burst out laughing. “Who would even date you?” he laughed even more, making Hyunjin kick his leg. “I thought you were talking to that one dude?” you furrowed your brows, now looking up to look at her.

“Him?” she questioned, a certain disgust could be heard in her voice. You nodded and she shook her head profusely. “He was so annoying god, no I need a pretty boy,” she said, as if trying to convince you guys to find someone for her. “What about that one guy, Jaemin? He hangs around Yerims friend,” Hyunjin said, blowing the smoke into the air and taking another puff of her cigarette.

Chenle furrowed his brows, “I mean.. Ugh can’t believe I’m saying this but I could try and get you an in,” he groaned out, regretting even thinking the words that came out of his mouth. You smiled softly, then glanced back at Heejin who beamed. “Really? Oh my god I knew it was worth keeping you around, thank you,” she smiled, blowing a kiss in his direction and he gagged. You shook your head and laughed, looking down at your sketchbook once more. 

“We all need to get coupled up, I mean it’s too much to be single as seniors you know!” Hyunjin groaned and Chenle furrowed his brows once more. He looked at you and a small smile grew on his face. “I think Yn here has got herself a little fling,” he said, making you pick up your head once more. “No I-” “Oh my god and you didn’t tell us? Sly sly girl!” Heejin laughed, slapping your forearm. “I don’t!” you replied, feeling antsy about what Chenle had said. 

Did he know? You knew he hung out around Jeno and some of his friends sometimes so was it possible you slipped up? Maybe he saw the two of you at that party from a month ago, or maybe he was just good with his intuition. It made you nervous, scared actually. You were worried that if Chenle knew and Jeno also happened to know then he’d just leave you, with no hesitation. 

“Oh come on, you’re always sneaking off and texting someone. Maybe you have a pretty boy of your own!” He teased, laughing as he ended his sentence. You gave him a look which then made Hyunjin join in on the teasing. “You know he has a point, who’s the lucky guy Yn!” she teased, now all of them were just making fun of you. You sucked on your teeth as you stood up, picking up your bag and shoving your sketchbook in it. 

“You know I’m not seeing anyone but please go ahead and make fun of me for all I care!” you replied, trying to level yourself by breathing in and out. “Yn it was a joke c’mon,” Chenle said, laughing nervously. “Yeah well I didn’t laugh!” your tone harsher now as you turned around to give them one last look then headed for the door. 

The door slammed behind you as you rushed down the stairs, face flushed. You weren’t sure why you were so mad, they were just joking you knew that and they knew that. So why were you pissed? Was it because you had to keep such a big secret from your friends, the ones you told everything? That you couldn’t even tell them how this part of your love life was eating you alive every second. Was it even a love life if there was only lust?

At first when you and Jeno were just having casual sex it didn’t matter because it never went past that. But then he started getting into your head and now you were here, running away from your best friends. You reached the end of the stairs, exiting the art building to find Jeno, Renjun, and Yerim walking in. 

“Yn! Me and Renjun just got off work, I was gonna come get you,” you glanced at Jeno then looked at Yerim. “Yeah uh.. Can we go? Sorry I’m just tired,” you breathed out and Yerim furrowed her brows. “Yeah of course,” she said, then glanced at Renjun and Jeno. “Thanks for walking us back Jeno and I’ll see you tomorrow Jun,” she smiled at both of them and you only looked down, feeling Jenos eyes on you. 

“Yeah of course, you guys get home safe!” Renjun said, then waving bye as they both entered the building, leaving you and Yerim on the steps to the entrance. She glanced at you as the two of you began walking. She knew something was wrong and you knew that she knew as well, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to care. 

Yerim didn’t take pride in it but she knew you like the back of her hand, more than you might know yourself. After living with someone for 4 years you begin to uncover their ins and outs. She knew you didn’t want to talk about it so instead the two of you walked home in a comforting silence, exactly how you liked it. 

Pottery was like relationships. It was difficult to build a good stable base on a piece, an unstable base would throw the entire piece off and eventually lead to the end. A small crack could turn into everything falling apart as the crack got bigger and bigger. As the crack gets bigger, the base begins to break leaving the entire thing a whole mess. That’s how Jeno perceived relationships. 

There were past mistakes at play with these thoughts as well, he felt as though no one really knew him no matter how much they tried to. This thought led to his own demise as he continued to date around and waste his time on girls he knew only wanted him for his looks, not who he was. But who was he? Lee Jeno didn’t know that himself. He knew that the person he was now was not the person he wanted to be. 

This is what he found himself thinking as he watched you from across the crowded house, led lights flashing all kinds of colors in the dark room. He took a sip of his beer to get rid of the familiar lump in his throat, what was he doing? With you, here at this party, with his life? Jaemin glanced at him then where you were standing talking to Chenle. “You got a crush, or you jealous?” Jaemins voice broke him out of his own thoughts as he glanced over at him, clearing his throat. “No no I think I just zoned out in that direction.” Jeno mumbled, swishing his beer around. 

“I mean, Chenle said something about Yn being with someone, think that one is off limits for you man” jaemin snickered, taking a sip of his own drink. Jeno looked up to look at him then glanced in your direction, “yeah, you’re right” Jeno mumbled back, looking down at the floor now. You were off limits, in every way possible. There were lines that Jeno wouldn’t allow himself to cross with you, certain feelings he couldn’t let himself feel. All because he was scared of that all too familiar crack. 

“Donghyuck’s setting up a game of pool with him and his friend, you down to join?” Jaemin spoke once more, leaning off against the wall and throwing his empty cup in the trash. Jeno glanced at him then you, pushing himself off the wall. “Lead the way” he mumbled, following Jaemin through the overly crowded house. Both of them made their way up the stairs, Jeno glancing around over the railing. 

He didn’t even like parties. Nothing about him actually liked being around a large group of drunk 20 year olds every night. Yet he still found himself going as an escape, from his own mind. The more he let his thoughts consume him the more he found himself back at that same place. The cracks. He couldn’t find it in himself to ever commit to something, especially not relationships. Because of those previous cracks Jeno doesn’t find himself worthy anymore, which is why he chooses to live the life he does. 

Amidst all these thoughts clouding his brain, he found himself standing across Donghyuck and his friend, mark. “Oh hey man, didn’t know you were joining us,” Mark said, an awkward tone could be heard in his voice. Jeno gave him a tight lipped smile, “yeah. Good seeing you too.” the words came out a little harsh, but he didn’t regret that. Truth be told he wasn’t very fond of Mark but not for the reasons one would assume. Mark was pretentious, always thinking he was better than others. Sometimes he was, maybe that’s why Jeno felt so threatened by him. 

Jaemin and Mark began setting up the game, Jeno watching them as he cleaned his cue, Donghyuck glanced at Jeno then mark. “A bit weird since you guys are both going for the same girl” he said, making Mark freeze up. Jaemin glanced at Jeno who only rolled his eyes. “No idea what you’re talking about man” Jeno mumbled, trying to act unphased. Why did he have to let his jealousy get the best of him? “Really? I mean Mark here told me you were dating yn?” Jaemin furrowed his brows and kept his gaze on Jeno. Jeno looked up to see everyone else looking at him. “Dude.. c’mon” Mark muttered next to Donghyuck, who only smiled smugly. 

Jeno shifted his gaze at Mark who looked at something behind Jeno, looking insanely nervous. He looked at Jaemin then sighed. “Me and yn are not dating, I would never see her like that” Jeno finally said, making Donghyuck nod and smile softly as he looked behind Jeno. “Hey yn!” he said, waving his hand. Jeno felt this pit in his stomach, like everything was going to go wrong now. He breathed out, trying to keep his composure. He turned around to see you, standing next to Heejin and Chenle. “Didn’t hear you coming” he mumbled, making the anger bubble in your chest more than it was. “Yeah?” you breathed out, glaring at him. 

Crack. 

He finally looked at you to hold your gaze, there was something behind your eyes that he hadn’t ever seen before. Hurt? Anger? Sadness? No it wasn’t any of those but rather regret.

You regretted meeting the man in front of you. 

You cleared your throat and walked past Jeno, sitting down on the couch not too far from the pool table. Chenle followed, sitting down next to you. You had your arms crossed, looking down at your feet. He glanced at you then Jeno. “You know you can tell me anything right?” Chenle said, making you look up to look at him. You knew you could, that wasn’t far from the truth but you didn’t want to. Suddenly the severity of yours and Jenos relationship was more than clear, as it was clouded in rose colored lenses before. 

You yearned for the chase of Jeno and the idea of being his to keep but he didn’t want you in the same way, no, he wouldn’t want you in the same way as far as you knew it. Not when he would say explicitly to people you knew that he wouldn’t ever want you in that way. How could you have let your own delusions take you this far? 

“Yeah i know” you finally breathed out, shifting your gaze at Jeno, then back to Chenle. Chenle pursed his lips, then sighed, deciding not to ask you anything further. You were glad because it was embarrassing, telling someone you wasted so much time on someone who didn’t want you in the first place. You did deserve better and it took Jeno talking about you like you were worthless for you to realize that. 

Before you knew it the game of pool had ended and you watched as all four of them talked amongst themselves. The same thoughts kept flooding your head, why? Why would you let yourself get dragged into this mess with him? Why would you let yourself get treated like this? Why would you fall for him? Amongst all these thoughts there was one that was calling out to you, why were you still here? You had no reason to be, Heejin was clinged to Jaemin and Chenle was now talking to Mark and Donghyuck. 

You got up from the couch, walking past the group they had formed to leave. Although you wanted to think no one noticed, one person did. Out of the corner of his eye Jeno saw you walk away and rush downstairs, he glanced back at Jaemin who was too busy talking to Heejin. “Gonna go use the bathroom” Jeno muttered, walking away from the conversation and rushing downstairs to find you. Fortunately he knew you and he knew you would be going outside, unfortunately he knew that the last person you wanted to see was him. 

He worked his way through the crowd, walking past drunk people and people who were high out of their minds. Finally he found himself at the entrance to the backyard which was open, in the distance he could see you standing in the field of grass. He walked out and shut the door behind him, making his way over to you. For some reason you always knew when he was around because you immediately turned around. 

You two stared at each other for a couple minutes, both of you unsure what to say until you finally broke the shared silence. “I thought you would never want to be seen with me,” you breathed out, your words cutting through Jeno like a knife. He pursed his lips and sighed, “Yn I never said that” he mumbled and you furrowed your brows, almost in amusement. “You basically could’ve,” you replied back, making him sigh out once more, but this time in frustration. 

“I had to say that, it would’ve gotten too weird,” he said, making you roll your eyes in response, “no one would’ve cared if we were together Jeno.” were. You said were. What did this mean for you and him now, he thought. “You don’t get it yn,” you furrowed your brows once more, squinting your eyes to make sure you were seeing him properly. But you weren’t. You didn’t recognize this side of Jeno because all you had seen was the side of him that you thought wanted you, and now you can’t tell the real from the fake. 

“Is it really that impossible to want me? Seriously Jeno?” your words hit him hard but you weren’t upset, rather angry, at yourself. Jeno wanted to reach out for your hand but he stopped himself, clenching his fist instead. “Baby-” “Don’t.” you cut him off, breathing out and closing your eyes, what was the point of this argument? Were you here to knock some sense into him because it wouldn't work and you knew that deep down. Instead you knew that you should just walk away, but your feet were stuck in that same place as you stared back at him. 

For once his eyes weren’t filled with lust but rather longing and need, was this just another one of his tactics to get you to stay?  Was it working, is that why you couldn’t find it in yourself to leave? He continued to stare at you until he broke eye contact looking down at the grass instead. What was he doing, why would he say that, how could he say that, all these questions ran through his head as he stood in front of you. You looked at him once more and sighed, starting to walk away until he grabbed your hand to stop you. 

You looked at him with almost hopeful eyes until he said something you never expected. “I love you.” he breathed out, staring back at you. You looked between his eyes back and forth, for an answer. He was hoping for something back, but you stood there in silence as you looked in his eyes. Finally you did something, retracting your hand away from his hold. 

Crack. 

“Are you serious?” you finally spoke, rather calmly and Jeno could only stare back at you. Your chest heaved up and down as you breathed in and out, trying to calm yourself. You looked up at the sky, closing your eyes. You looked back at himself feeling the anger bubble up even more. “Can you say something?” you said and Jeno only pursed his lips, your anger rubbing off on him. “What else do you want me to say? I already said I love you yn” those three words again, hitting you like a blow to the face. 

“Anything but that Jeno please.” You mumbled and Jeno only furrowed his brows in confusion, “I thought this is what you wanted? You wanted to know if I want you and here's your answer” Jeno said back making you feel even angrier. "You don’t love me Jeno so stop saying it” you said now it being Jenos turn to be amused. “Seriously what more do you want from me yn?” he replied rather annoyed and you only glared at him. 

“Nothing! I want nothing from you because you don’t love me. You loved the idea of having me to yourself.” you shouted now, feeling the anger boil over in your body. Jeno scoffed, “Don't do that, you and I both know that this love of yours means nothing in the long run Jeno” you continued on, making Jeno silent. 

Crack. 

“You’ll say this to me now and by next week we’ll be back here, you publicly denying any ties to me and me having to be embarrassed with myself for doing this in the first place!” You shouted some more, feeling tears brimming in your eyes, he watched you with a cold gaze, so unreadable. “Embarrassed? Really Yn?” and you stood there baffled, that that was all he got from what you said. You laughed, in disbelief and hurt. “Jeno you can’t love anyone because you don’t even value yourself. Face it you’re insecure and it rubs off on the person you’re with,” Your voice was calmer now, more confrontational. He sighed out in frustration at your words. “I told you I loved you Yn” he said and you scoffed right in his face, “Those words don’t mean anything without actions Jeno. You and I both know that,” You finally sighed out and the words were hitting him harder now more than ever. 

You were right, it didn’t mean anything without his actions. And what were his actions? Manipulating you, claiming he loved you when he didn’t? Maybe there was an ounce of love for you in him but you were right once more. He couldn’t love anyone because he didn’t value himself. At all really, he didn’t hold himself to any value. He watched as you breathed in and out deeply, wiping away a few stray tears that fell, shaking your head. “Jeno I don’t want to see you again, luckily you don’t either so this’ll be easy,” you finally said, Jeno still stuck frozen. He watched you walk away and let himself stay out there, to reflect on what he could’ve had. 

Breakups weren’t easy, especially when no titles were actually established in a relationship. Jeno laid on his bed, staring at the ceiling in the dark, his hand over the spot that you used to sleep in when you were here. But that side on his bed was now cold from your loss, you weren’t there, and you weren’t going to be. For the past week Jeno had been wallowing in his own self pity, locking himself in his apartment. If it weren’t for Renjun and Jaemin breaking in with their spare keys he wouldn’t have eaten anything either. 

Jeno flipped over to his side, still clutching his pillow as he laid in bed. He was sure both Renjun and Jaemin knew by now, it was painfully obvious, but he didn’t care anymore. All he could care about was how right you were, how you, who he thought didn't know him, actually knew him inside and out. He sighed out, shutting his eyes to fall back into his deep sleep once more, his dreams and thoughts being clouded with only you. 

When he woke up he found that his bedroom door was open and there was food placed on his bedside counter. He sat up in his bed, staring at the wall across from the bed as he heard a set of footsteps get closer and closer to his room. He glanced at the doorway to see Renjun standing there. The two of them held eye contact with one another until Renjun fully walked into his room, sitting at the edge of the bed across from him. “You didn’t eat your breakfast,” Renjun finally said, making Jeno look up from his blanket. “Wasn’t hungry,” he mumbled in response and Renjun nodded, looking down at the floor. 

“If you’re here to lecture me then just go Renjun, I know I’m a dick,” Jeno breathed out, crossing his arms as Renjun lifted his head, tilting his head. “I’m not.” Renjun said, making Jeno sigh, almost in relief. He didn’t want to talk about it with Renjun or even Jaemin because it was too embarrassing, that he was too in his own head that he didn’t even stop to think how it was affecting you. “But, why’d you hide it?” Renjun continued, making Jeno purse his lips in thought.

Why did he? From the moment Jeno met you he knew you were a good reliable person, you also just clicked with him immediately, so much that it scared him. So that was why he suggested hiding it from your friends in the first place, that if people didn’t know then it would be easier for him to leave you like he did with everyone else. Yet the more time he spent with you the more he kept growing closer to you, unknowingly. One thing led to another and you two had been seeing each other for 4 months, from then it was too late for him to leave so he kept giving you reasons to leave him. 

From telling you not to act close around him at parties to getting jealous over Mark, everything was calculated in Jenos eyes. You just couldn’t see that he was trying to get rid of you. Why did you stay after all he was putting you through. Why did you want him so much that it started to hurt him? Even Jeno didn’t know the answer to that. 

“I just.. thought it was for the best.” 

“But did she think that? Do you think she liked being hidden Jen?” 

Renjuns' words cleared the clouds away in Jenos vision. You didn’t want to be hidden. Of course you didn’t want to be hidden, what made him think you did? “No.. I just said that on my own, she didn’t suggest it,” Jeno finally said, making Renjun sigh out in response. “Look, I’m not entirely sure what happened between the two of you but what I do know is that you both need to communicate, she didn’t deserve to be hidden like some dirty secret and there clearly are some things left unsaid between the both of you.” Renjun said what he had been meaning to tell Jeno, he was right. You didn’t deserve any of this. You deserved love and appreciation, he had been treating you terribly this whole time and you didn’t deserve to endure that. 

“How do I even talk to her, Jun she hates me” Jeno spoke once more, “if she hated you, she wouldn’t have extended an invitation to the art show.” Renjun said without missing a beat, making Jeno furrow his brows. Renjun reached into his pocket, taking out a ticket to the art show and putting it in Jenos lap. Jeno stared back at the ticket, it was mocking him.

There was no way he could muster up the courage to go and face you after embarrassing you like he did. But his heart got the better of him. Jeno stood up from the bed, making Renjun look up at him with a confused stare. He stood like that for a bit and then cleared his throat, “So? Are you going to help me pick something to wear,” Jeno finally said, making Renjun nod and smile. “You know you need to shower,” he said, standing up from the bed making Jeno playfully shove his shoulder, giggling as he did so. 

You stared at the finished piece behind the glass casing of the exhibit. Staring back at you was a heart, with scars and almost battle wounds that were covered by something that resembled a bandaid. Behind it were two small angel-esque wings coming out of it. The piece in itself was up to interpretation as you had told your professor but you knew what the meaning was. It was meant to resemble a heart after a long well lived life, although there were scars and wounds the heart was still put together constantly, signifying that even if things were dull you would get back up. 

That was how you saw yourself after everything with Jeno, you were damaged and bruised sure, but that didn’t mean your life would just stop. The first couple days went in blurs, going home just to sleep and spending the rest of your time in the workshop, but after a long talk with Yerim, you started to feel better. You didn’t have to think about all the what ifs but rather move on from the fact that it had happened and it’s over now. 

The exhibit was now empty and speaking of Jeno, you had passed an invitation to him via Renjun, no one else had seen him since the party. You didn’t expect him to come but you were hoping he would, he always liked seeing your pieces. You sighed, glancing around and seeing no sight of Jeno or anyone else for that matter. You turned around to find yourself face to face with Jeno, but he wasn’t looking at you. You followed where his gaze went and he was looking at the piece, admiring it with glistening eyes. 

He looked like he just showered, his skin always got a little red after a shower. You wondered what he had been up to this past week. He shifted his gaze from the piece, over to you. That was when everything fell silent in your head. “It’s good.. Like really good,” Jeno finally said, smiling softly. “Thanks, I worked really hard on it,” you replied, cursing yourself mentally because what did you mean you worked really hard on it? Of course you did.

He smiled and looked down at his feet, clearly thinking about something. He wanted to say something, you could tell by the way he stood, anxiously fiddling with the rings on his fingers. A part of you wanted to say what he was thinking before he got the chance to but you held yourself back, this was one of those things he had to do on his own. 

You hoped it was what you were thinking about. Truth be told, even if you were happy this was over, you would be lying if you said you didn’t want him. In some weird fucked up away, you would always want him even if it led to you being hurt. For some reason you let it slide but you told yourself, if you were to try again with him, it would be different. 

“I'm sorry, for everything” He finally said, lifting his head up. You took a deep breath and nodded, signaling for him to continue. “I’ve been terrible and there's no excuse, when we first started seeing each other I thought it would be one of those flings where we move on from each other after a week, but it’s not. I care about you Yn and it may not seem like it but I do want to be with you. I know you don't feel the same but I love you Yn.” He breathed out, his voice going soft at the last sentence. You furrowed your brows and spoke up before he could. ‘Who said I didn’t love you Jen?” 

He stared back at you and you sighed, “I do love you, I just thought you were saying it just so I wouldn’t get upset,” you breathed out, Jeno shaking his head. “It’s okay Jen, I forgive you. But if we want to give this another shot we have to talk to one another.”

There was a pause between the both of you, Jeno only smiled softly. “So.. what does this mean?” He said, a sense of hope in his voice. You needed to be the bearer of bad news. You sighed and ran your hand through your hair, “I got accepted to the graduate program” You breathed out, making Jeno smile even more. “That’s amazing Yn, I knew you would get in,” he said, making you nod and smile in response. “The reason why I’m bringing it up is because it’s in a different city, about 3 hours away,” you finally said, inserting the metaphorical knife.

Jeno fell silent, he thought about the weight of your words. “I can do long distance Yn.” He spoke up, surprising you and himself that he was thinking with his heart. You fell silent, in shock. He wore the same frown he did earlier and nodded. “Okay so you don’t want to” he sighed out and you widened your eyes. “No I do!” you said, rather loudly and quickly. He stared back at you, a small smile on his face. “But let’s take it slow, you know.. I mean most of our relationship is gonna be through texts and calls,” you said, making him smile even more. “Anything you want.” He muttered, breaking the gap between you two to reach out and hold his hand.

You two began walking, hearts dancing as your footsteps aligned with one another. “You know if we’re going slow, should we start over?” Jeno said, making you nod as you let go of his hand, making him stop walking. You stood in front of him and held out your hand for him to shake. “Hi, I’m Yn,” you said, a big smile on your face as he looked down at your hand and smiled. Jeno shook your hand. “I’m Jeno, and I love you,” he blurted out, making both of you laugh out loud in the now empty exhibit. Your laughs echoed off the walls and Jeno pulled you into his chest, a tight embrace. “I love you too” you mumbled in his ear, tip toeing so he could hear you. 

Nothing was ever meant to be perfect, relationships nor sculpting but it didn’t hurt anyone to give it a shot. 

taglist : @ronniee-26 @aerifim @17ericas @polarisjisung @sunghoonsgfreal @ayukas @snwydoie @remtrack @honeyfever @chenlezip @hyuckluvr-com @cosmicwintr @ykvdani (bold cannot be tagged) nct taglist

Despite his love for blending in with the crowd and remaining mysterious, with the pink hair that tousles on the top of his head, the black eyeliner that smudges the corner of his eyes and with the same two-coloured clothing that drowns his body… Jeno is nothing but the sort. 

Jeno, admittedly, stuck out like a sore thumb. 

It wasn’t exactly his fault. He loves dying his hair crazy colours, wearing clothes ten times bigger than his usual and heavy boots that stomps across any surface he walks on. He loves filling in his waterline in black eyeliner and decorating his outfit with fancy jewellery that matched the jewellery on his face. Painting his nails is another favourite of his too, although the black chipped flames was his current go-to. 

It doesn’t help the fact that Jeno was in a band alongside his best friends. The band wasn’t huge, per se, but they play almost every weekend at a popular bar in their hometown, attracting a crowd over 100+ people that try their best to cram themselves in said bar just to see said band whenever they manage to get a gig. 

So maybe it is his fault. But he never expected the attention it would get him, eyes ogling at him from every direction, hushed whispers thrown his way, compliments upon compliments filling his dms and even said to him in person. He secretly loved the attention, but he was never the one to make a move when girls threw themselves at him, hinting for a quick fuck or even a relationship. He just wasn’t interested, nobody has ever caught his attention.

That was until he saw you at one of his band's gigs, sitting in a booth with a friend and sipping on a coke through a straw with your eyes taking in your, what seems to be, unfamiliar surroundings. He was captivated by your presence, wanting nothing more than to gather the courage to walk on over and strike a conversation with you, to know more about you.

“Staring makes you look creepy” Jeno’s eyes immediately rip from your form to his bandmate, Donghyuck, who’s hardly even glancing Jeno’s way, attention focussing on his reflection in the mirror backdrop behind the bar, standing on the tip of his toes to look over the rows of alcohol to catch a better glimpse of himself as he tries to restyle his dyed purple locks, the sweat on his forehead making his bangs stick. “Go talk to her. Work that so-called ‘Jeno charm’ I hear Jaemin talking about”

“It’s real, alright?” A flash of orange appears in front of Jeno’s vision as Jaemin throws himself down in the seat beside him, slamming a tray of multicoloured shots on the table and spilling half of its contents which leaves the bartender cursing under his breath, wiping the mess away while glaring at the latter who cheekily smiles his way out of any sort of confrontation. “I’ve seen it before and it works like magic… makes the people drop to their knees in an instant”

Donghyuck’s brow raises in amusement with a teasing grin, “In the year I’ve known Jeno, I’ve never seen him hookup or flirt with anyone… got some problems going on down there, huh?” 

“Shut the fuck up” Jeno grumbles at the jab, swatting Donghyuck hand away as he tries to reach out and pat his cheek. Donghyuck cackles at this and grabs the shot that Jaemin eagerly hands out to the pair before calling out Renjun’s name who emerges from backstage, adjusting the leather jacket on his shoulders as he settles himself down beside Jaemin.

Jaemin hums as he tugs the collar down of Renjun’s shirt, “Nice marks. Was it Thing 1 or Thing 2 this time?”

“Hyejin” Renjun answers, but the blank look Jaemin gives him makes Renjun close his eyes in annoyance. “Thing 1”

“I thought Thing 1 was Yejin?” Donghyuck pulls a face and Renjun’s quick to jump to Hyejin’s defence about how she’s number one but Jeno blanks out the conversation, rolling his eyes as he picks up the shot and downs it quickly before bringing his beer bottle up to his lips, craning his neck to take a look over at you once again. He captures you smiling at your friend this time, nodding to something she says and clinking your simple glass of coke to her colour cocktail.

He’s, undoubtedly, interested in you which is new and foregin to Jeno. He’s not scared or nervous and he really would walk on over to you to begin a conversation if it wasn’t for the fact you weren’t alone. Jeno wanted to get rid of your friend and have you all to himself, but he found it difficult seeing as your friend refused to leave your side all night.

Jeno huffs with a shake of his head, gulping down his beer and slamming the empty bottle against the bar countertop as he orders another. He’ll just have to wait for the right moment. 

“I think he’s staring at me” Eunkyung whispers at you across the booth, straightening her posture and running her fingers through her hair, fixing any hairs that strayed out of place as she takes a quick glance at herself in her phone screen. “How do I look? Do I have something in my teeth?”

“You look fine” You reassure her with a quick nod of your head, sipping your coke through the plastic straw with your brows pulling together in curiosity as you watch her fuss about with her outfit, pulling the top half of her dress lower to show more cleavage. “Who’s staring at you?”

“The pink haired guy sitting at the bar behind yo—Hey!!! Don’t be so obvious!!!” You ignore Eunkyung’s feeble attempts at trying to bring your focus back to her, easily spotting the pink haired man that sits at the bar with his other brightly hair coloured friends. You snort at the sight, but your brows pull together with confusion as his attention is elsewhere, not on your friend. You slowly turn back around to face Eunkyung who’s shoulders drop in defeat. “He was staring, okay? He turned as soon as you did”

“I believe you” You tell her, getting comfortable in your seat as you observe the way she takes quick glances behind you, tucking a strand of her behind her ears and holding her head high. “Who is he anyways?”

“You’re kidding” Eunkyung baffles, eyes wide. She takes offence when you shake your head. “It’s Jeno. We see him on campus, like, everyday!! He’s the reason why we’re here tonight—”

You frown at that, “I thought you wanted to hangout?”

“I do!!” Eunkyung sheepishly says with a quick nod and you’re less than impressed. She sighs heavily. “Listen, Jeno is one of the members in that band that performed earlier and I haven’t been able to have much free time to see them play. On top of that, we haven’t hung out in a while and this was the only weekend we seemed to have free time so I am basically hitting two birds with one stone here… can you really blame me?”

“I guess not” You sigh, even though you’re not impressed with what was going on here. You felt a little bit used and lied too, especially when she burst through your dorm room earlier and rambled excitedly about how she’s able to spend some time with you tonight. 

Your mood turns a little bit sour when it dawns on you that you’ll most definitely be trekking back to your dorm room alone tonight, knowing that she’ll blow off staying over to go blow off some other guy, literally. You wish you were the type of person to be selfish, to tell her that you’re not exactly happy with her possibly leaving you to go fuck some other guy and beg her to stay with you all night, to catchup on everything that was missed, to go home together with a takeout bag full of junk food and watch a shitty old movie on your small laptop screen.

But you weren't selfish. You have never been selfish. 

“I really need to go pee” Eunkyung announces, her face twisting in discomfort as she pushes her empty cocktail glass across the table and awkwardly shuffles out of the booth. She picks up her handbag and rummages through quickly, retrieving her purse and shoving it in your hands. “Go get us another drink—No more cokes for you either!!!”

You don’t even get a chance to say anything as Eunkyung waddles away in a rush towards the toilets and you push yourself out of the booth with a huff, clutching her purse tightly in your grasp as you manoeuvre through the crowds of people that block the bar, too busy with their conversations to even make room for anyone else. 

You grip Eunkyung’s purse in your hand tightly as you manage to reach the bar, watching as the bartender leans across the wooden surface to chat up some customers with a flirtatious smile on the other side. You debate on returning back to your booth and waiting for Eunkyung to come so she can work her charm and capture his attention for some drinks but you decide against it with a sigh, lifting yourself up on the vacant barstool and sitting comfortably, too focused on the bartender and his cheesy pickup lines on the customers on your right that you’re completely unaware of who is sitting on your left.

Jeno struggles to contain himself when he feels you slightly brush against his shoulder to sit yourself down in the empty chair beside him, staring over at Doyoung in a hopeful attempt to get served by him but Jeno knows the bartender all to well. Nobody gets served when Doyoung has found a target to flirt with.

This, possibly, could be Jeno’s chance to finally talk to you, to engage in that conversation that he’s been dying to do since he first laid eyes on you, but the words get stuck in the back of his throat and he struggles to actually face you, especially when he can see the others mocking him in the corner of his eyes.

Donghyuck makes obnoxious kissing noises that makes Jeno’s head snap in his direction, but Donghyuck doesn’t back down from the teasing as he nudges his shoulder. 

“Come on. Let us see you work that Jeno Magic” The wiggle of Donghyuck’s eyebrows makes Jeno want to fight, his knuckles turning white from the grip he has around his beer bottle and Donghyuck’s quick to throw his hands up in defence. “I just want to see you get laid, man”

“I hate to admit it, but Donghyuck’s right” Renjun nods his head, eyes flickering between Jeno and you, who is still wrapped up in your own head to hear the conversation that’s going on. It surprises him immensely. “You’ve got all these girls practically begging at your feet for a quick fuck and you’re still refusing to give in?”

“Maybe Jeno does have some problems going on down there…” Donghyuck says as he stares down at Jeno’s crotch, tilting his head to the side as he bravely reaches forward to drag his finger over the bugle in his pants. Jeno rolls his eyes at his actions, but doesn’t bother to swat Donghyuck’s hand away as he’s used to this type of behaviour. Donghyuck hums, “Maybe not. Still big even when soft, impressive”

“That was just an excuse to cop a feel” Jaemin scoffs, pushing Donghyuck who stumbles back slightly and grips onto the bar for support. He goes to retaliate, raising his fist to pummel it down on Jaemin’s back but the latter is quick to dodge. “Look, as much as I would love for you to fuck someones brains out, it’s all on your terms. Don’t let these freaks peer pressure you into doing shit”

Jeno doesn’t feel pressured, not one bit. All he wants right now is for his friends to move along and go chat up some girls so he can finally be alone with you, as you are no longer with your friend either. It would be the perfect opportunity, and he wouldn’t have to worry about the others making grand gestures and butting into the conversation and possibly making things worse when he’s talking to you.

Jaemin seems to read his mind perfectly, throwing his arms around Renjun and Donghyuck’s shoulders and dripping the material of their leather jackets to grab their attention, pulling them away but not straying too far from the bar as they still have their endless amount of drinks and shots lined out for them.

It wasn’t perfect, but it will do. Jeno thinks to himself, gently tugging on the jewellery that dangles from his earlobe as he finally turns to face you, just in time for Doyoung to finish his flirting.

“Sorry about that” The bartender apologies to you with a faint chuckle as he finally makes his way on over, running his fingers through his dark hair and adjusting the glasses on the bridge of his nose before resting his hands on his hips, giving you a full view of his all black sleeveless shirt that's tucked into a pair of black jeans. You are now able to see his white name tag that stands out on the outfit. Doyoung, it reads. “What can I get for you, sweetheart?”

“Uhh…” You hesitate for a moment, unable to remember the name of the cocktail that Eunkyung had been buying herself as you scan the drinks menu above his head. Your teeth sink into your bottom lip as you weakly point at the bottom of the list, the most cheapest of ones. “I guess the d—”

“Can I have my usual, a cosmopolitan and a coke?” A voice beside you butts in for his own order, completely disregarding yours and your brows pull together in annoyance, spinning around in his directions to grill into him for his complete rudeness but the insults die down in the back of your throat once you realise who exactly spoke before you. 

The mess of pink hair is the first feature you see and you immediately know who is sitting beside you. The guy that Eunkyung has been non-stop talking about and has been so fascinated with these past couple of months, the main topic of tonight's conversation and your eyebrows can’t help but raise in slight shock. You’re beginning to see the appeal… Jeno’s really pretty up close. 

To be fair, you have never been this close to Jeno before, so you’ve never had the chance to give him a full one-over. You’re passed him a few times before, but he didn’t capture your attention to the point you would be one of those that would ogle at him from across the room or even on campus grounds. Yet standing as near as you are to him, you can’t help but really look at him and take in every little detail you can find. 

The smudged eyeliner and black eyeshadow makes his eyes seem a little intimidating that what they’re probably are, but the dark look itself makes you sink back into your seat. Due to the close proximity, you notice the little hole on the side of his nostril and it makes you wonder if that’s where a nose piercing once was, the redness around the area giving you a slight inkling that maybe he tried piercing it himself sometime this week or even today.

“That’s what you’re both drinking, right? Cosmopolitan for your friend and a coke for you?” Jeno’s questions bring you out of your staring as he shifts around in his seat to face you fully, the chains on his black and pink outfit jingling with every movement he’s making. He taps his nails against the bar as awaits for your answer and that’s when you notice the black flamed nail art that decorates his fingernails, some being more chipped than others but you can’t deny the fact it suits his appearance perfectly. 

“Yes” You answer quickly, realising you’ve been quiet for far too long. “Yeah, I think so…” You pause for a second, face twisting in confusion as you glance between him and the cocktail that’s being made. “How did you know she ordered a cosmopolitan?”

The corner of Jeno’s lip twitch upwards lightly in amusement with a light hearted laugh as he looks at you, “I didn’t”

“Here you go, gorgeous” Doyoung compliments as he slides the cocktail and the coke glass in your direction with precise aim, not even spilling any of the contents inside. He settles the beer bottle in front of Jeno. “That will be—”

“Wait, Can I get another one of those?” You ask as you point at the pink coloured concoction in front of you and Doyoung sends a wink your way as he turns on the heel of his feet to go make the drink and you turn to look at Jeno who’s already looking at you with his brow raised and you suddenly feel the need to explain yourself. “It’s for me”

“Had enough of the cokes?”

“Not exactly… She just told me not to get another one” You say, looking down at the full glass of coke in front of you with pursed lips. “But I’ll still take this, just in case I don’t like the cocktail”

Jeno grins at that, reaching for the beer bottle with one hand while his other reaches inside his pocket as soon as Doyoung comes back with your newly made drink. He gives you the price and your eyes almost bulge out at the numbers, swallowing down the lump in your throat as you tell him you’ll pay by card. Eunkyung is going to kill you when she finds out about the cost, it makes you grimace just thinking about the consequences as you dig through her purse but the sound of beeping brings you out of your search, lifting your head up to see Jeno with his arm outstretched, own bank card in hand and pressed against the card reader. 

Did he just? Your mouth opens and closes in shock, unable to grasp onto what just happened even though it was the most simplest thing in the world. Doyoung’s giving Jeno a look with a smirk, tongue poking at his cheek as he shoves the card reader back beneath the bar, fluttering his fingers at you for a quick goodbye as he serves another customer. You briefly hear him compliment her hair but you pay him no attention as you’re meeting eyes with Jeno who seems nonchalant at the thought of paying for all your pricey drinks.

“You didn’t have to do that” You tell him. “I had the money, I—”

“I know, but I wanted to” Jeno smiles prettily at you, taking a sip of his beer without taking his eyes off of you. “I’ve never seen you in this bar before, so think of it as a ‘welcome’ gift. From me to you”

“Thank you” You thank him, heart warming at the gift. Jeno nods his head, reaching over to gently clink his beer against one of your drinks before taking a sip. You do the same, feeling obliged too, bringing the reddish pink cocktail to your lips and the second the liquid touches your taste buds, your face turns sour at the unusual taste that hits your tongue. You place the cocktail back down on the bar to grab your coke, washing down the taste with something nicer and Jeno’s lips curl into an amused smile, a quiet laugh leaving him.

“Don’t like it?”

“It’s unusual” You admit, awkwardly laughing as you rub the back of your neck. You feel slightly embarrassed at pulling the least attractive face and not enjoying a drink that he bought out of his money. “But, it’s still a gift so I’ll just endure it”

“You don’t have to drink that” Jeno shakes his head, the amusement still sparkling in his eyes as he reaches for his credit card. “Here, let me buy you another—”

“No!” You immediately stop him, not wanting him to spend any more of his money on buying you expensive drinks. Jeno seems surprised at your sudden burst, reeling his hand back into his lap and you almost cringe away from your tone. “I will drink it”

“Yeah?” His eyes dart down to the cocktail at the bar before back up at you, tilting his head to he side teasingly with a smirk. “Are you sure about that?”

Your heart thumps at the sight, his dark eyes staring up at you with a look you’re unfamiliar with, and you nod your head pathetically as you mutter, “Very”

“Damn, was there a queue at the bar or something? You took so long” Eunkyung frowns as soon as you finally arrive back at your shared booth with cocktail drinks in hand, tongue poking out in pure concentration as you try your best not to spill its contents. Eunkyung, thankfully, takes one out of your hands, “Thanks! Did you not use my card? I didn’t get the notification on my phone that my card was being—did you get us a cosmopolitan?! Do you realise how expensive these things are here?!”

“Relax, I didn’t buy these” You tell her as you comfortably settle yourself down opposite her, sliding her purse across the booth. She’s silent as she stares at you with confusion and you take this as a sign to explain yourself further, “Courtesy of your favourite pink haired drummer boy”

“Jeno bought me a drink?” The look that plasters across her face is priceless and you bite back the urge to add on how he bought your drink too, but you let her live in her moment a little while longer as you nod your head, watching as she takes in this information with wide excited eyes. “Oh my god… He totally likes me, I fucking knew it. Did he say anything?!”

“About what?” You ask, brows pulling together and Eunkyung points at herself dramatically. “Oh, not really… We were just talking about alcohol, you know, considering we were both standing at a bar”

Eunkyung sighs dreamily, “My type of guy”

“Yeah, he seems interesting” You find yourself agreeing, pressing your lips firmly together as you glance over your shoulder in a somewhat hopeful manner that you’ll see Jeno still at the bar, sipping his beer or maybe even watching you both from afar.

Truth be told, you have no idea why you are even suddenly hoping for him to be watching. You’ve never spoken before until today, you don’t know him that well and the first interaction you both had was small and quick. But it seems to leave such a huge impact on you that you’re now wishing for something more. Was it something more you even wanted?

You couldn’t explain this sudden wanting feeling or fascination regarding Jeno, and the heavy weight resting on your chest when you see that he isn’t even at the bar anymore makes you feel uncomfortable, out of character… you’ve never been like this before. So why now? Why all of a sudden?

“What are you thinking about over there?” Eunkyung’s voice brings you out of your thoughts and you turn your head back in her direction, quickly shrugging your shoulders and shaking your head to silently tell her that it was nothing, but she doesn’t seem convinced, not when she’s staring straight at you with a suspicious look in her eyes. “I don’t believe you”

“I’m not—”

“You were staring over at the bar” Eunkyung points out before she decides to look over herself, lips pursing in deep thought as she scans the surroundings and she smiles immediately. “Are you looking over at Doyoung? The bartender?”

“I—”

“You should go for it. I heard he gives really good head and honestly, no offence, you need it. He could definitely loosen you up and give you a good time tonight”

Your brow raises in suspicion, “Are you saying that because it’s the truth or is it because you’ll feel bad that I’d have to walk home alone while you’re getting laid later?”

“Both” She sends you a sly wink, clinking her cocktail to yours before taking a drink. You sigh softly with a roll of your eyes, reaching for your own cocktail until your hand falters slightly. You really didn’t like this cocktail and it pains you when it dawns on you that you left your coke at the bar that’s now nowhere in sight, probably been taken by another customer that got excited over a free drink. You have nothing to wash this disgusting taste down with, but you promised him that you’d drink it. It was a gift after all. 

You start to consider acting a little over dramatic and plug your nose to not taste the flavour, maybe even rummage through your own bag for some leftover gum that you know is pooling at the bottom somewhere  but you decide to suck it up, to drink it without making a fuss. 

Before you could even pick up your glass, another is placed down in front of you, filled to the brim with bubbly coke and paired with a red plastic straw which faces towards you. Eunkyung’s the first to respond to this stranger, covering her mouth to cough as she chokes on her drink, eyes strained and watery. You glance over at her, to make sure she’s okay before you turn your head to look up at the person who’s brought over the new drink and you’re slightly taken back when you see Jeno standing there, smiling as he stares down at you.

“You forgot your drink at the bar” He tells you, voice low and teasing. His eyes dip down to the cocktail in your hands, brow raised. “Are you still sure you’re going to drink that?”

“I was going to” Your voice comes out in a whisper but Jeno’s already taking the alcohol out of your hands and replacing it with the coke. He holds the stem of the glass in between his fingers, eyeing the bright coloured drink before mindlessly sliding it over to Eunkhyung who’s still speechless about the man that’s standing in front of her, but she grasps her new drink in hand, pulling it close to her chest as if that was the most meaningful thing anyone has ever bought her. 

“Enjoy your drink” He whispers to you and before he even thinks about disappearing, you’re calling out his name. You’re unsure of why you’re beckoning him to come back. Maybe it was you refusing to let him go so quickly, to let yourself crave into the fascination that has grown within you, or maybe it was because you can see the look on Eunkyung’s face due to his close proximity, the gears turning in her head to try and figure out how to start a conversation with him, to finally flirt with him.

You’re a good friend to Eunkyung, you always have been.

“Do you want to join us?” You offer with a friendly smile, gesturing to the empty seat opposite you and beside Eunkyung. “You’re welcome to come sit with us and hang out… unless you have somewhere else to be?”

Jeno’s quiet for a moment, eyes darting around the bar as if he was searching for something but he nods his head, taking you up on your kind offer. Eunkyung’s beaming with excitement as she shuffles for extra space on her side of the booth, removing her bag from the space for him to sit down but you let out a huff as Jeno’s shoulder knocks against yours when he settles in the small space next to you.

He apologises, lifting up a hand to rub at the forming sore spot on your shoulder gently and you’re glued in your seat, sandwiched between a wooden barrier and Jeno’s body. The heat that radiates off him comforts you immensely but you try not to pay too much attention to it, not when you see Eunkyung staring at the two of you with a slight pout on her lips, but it soon wipes away and is replaced with a grin.

“Thank you for paying for the drinks, by the way” She gestures to her cocktail in front of her. “I’m getting your next one as a thank you”

“I appreciate that” His head dips low in gratitude, taking a quick sip of his beer and Eunkyung watches carefully, brows furring as she tilts her head, trying to read the label from her seat and Jeno notices this as he almost comically slowly turns the bottle in her direction. “It’s new. Doyoung got it delivered today… Me and the boys have been drinking this all night”

“Fire Alarm? Doyoung got a drink named after one of your band's songs?” Eunkyung teases and Jeno simply nods his head. You fight the urge to snort at that, finding it a little amusing that they got an alcoholic beverage named after them.

“You should try it” Jeno nudges you gently, offering you a taste. You go to decline, to shake your head and say you’re fine with the coke but the smirk that dances across his lips is enough to slowly change your mind. “You might like this better than the cocktail… I could see you being a beer girl”

“A beer girl?” You chuckle, but you question no further when you take the beer in your hands for a sip. You are hesitant on the taste that hits your tongue, rubbing your lips together firmly as the pair watch you, waiting for your honest opinion. You swallow thickly, but you’re pleasantly surprised. “It doesn’t taste like beer. It’s actually pretty sweet”

Jeno hums, agreeing with you. “It’s good, right?” 

“Let me try” Eunkyung reaches out and you happily hand over the drink but you realise your mistake, turning to Jeno with wide eyes as it dawns on you that you’re sharing around his drink. He’s smiling at you when you already look at him and you want to apologise but Eunkyung’s already sliding the drink back into his grasp with a satisfied hum. “I like it too!”

“That can be the next round of drinks then” He says, eyes briefly glancing down at Eunkyung’s purse beside her. Eunkyung’s smile falters for a moment as it dawns on her that she was the one that offered to buy him his next drink, internally thinking about the dent these drinks are going to put on her bank card but she musters up another smile, nodding her head excitedly at the thought of buying Jeno something.

“You don’t have to buy the next drink” You come to her aid, your hand slipping into your own purse that's tucked in your side. “We can go in halves—”

“Don’t offend me like that” Eunkyung jokes with a flip of her hair over her shoulder. “I have the money. I’ll get us the next round”

You wince at that, unconvinced. “You sure?”

“Totally” She smirks, turning to face Jeno who’s quietly sipping his beer. “Your set earlier was incredible… You and your band are so—”

“DID SOMEBODY SAY SHOTS?!?” An unfamiliar voice screeches at the top of their lungs as a tray full of multicoloured shots messily thrown on the table in front of you all, some shots spilling over but a hand is quick to recover them despite half of its contents pooling around in the tray. Your eyes trail up the arm of the owner that brought over the shots, seeing a guy with flushed cheeks and dishevelled purple dyed hair, a clear sign of someone who had way too much to drink tonight.

One of the guys beside him with shorter dark hair curses beneath his breath, scolding his friend for the mess he’s created as the other tries, and fails, to scoop the spilt alcohol back into its respected cup with his pinky finger. It really doesn’t work, but it makes the whole scene funnier as you watch the orange haired guy's face, tongue peeking out of the corner of his lips in pure concentration. 

“This is the second time this has happened” Jeno informs you with a sigh, but the chuckle that escapes him shows he’s not as annoyed as he’s letting on. “Jaemin spilt the shots earlier”

You assume the purple haired to be the one Jeno had mentioned, but the way the orange haired boy’s head snaps up in offence and stops his failed attempts at trying to scoop the alcohol back into the shot glass, you discover that that was Jaemin. 

“I tripped over your stupid fucking boot actually” Jaemin hisses through his teeth as he kicks his indenticle looking boot against Jeno’s who doesn’t seem fazed at the attack at all. “Anyway, scoot up you losers, let us in”

“Are you joining us?” Eunkyung eyes twinkle at the thought of her favourite band joining the booth and you couldn’t help but feel happy for her, knowing that she’s been waiting for this moment. Although, you’re confused and a little bit worried about where the others would sit, especially inside the booth. It could fit four people at most, but you weren’t entirely sure about the six of you. It would definitely be cramped and to be honest, you’re already stuck against Jeno and the wooded barrier on your other side. 

“Of course we’re joining you, that’s the reason why I bought us all shots” The purple haired, who you discover is Donghyuck after the shorter one who calls out his name with a harsh elbow to the side, scoffs as he makes a quick gesture to Eunkyung to scoot up which she happily does, making enough room for Donghyuck and Jaemin to sit on her side of the booth. 

“Just scooch in Renjun, don’t be shy” Jaemin teases the short black haired who retaliates with a quick middle finger to his face just as he grins apologetically at you and Jeno, clamping a hand down on Jeno’s shoulder to push himself up to stand, placing his boot on the smallest area between Jeno’s legs before climbing over you both, claiming how he doesn't want to sit on the end.

Jeno’s arm slides around your middle in an instant as he shuffles to the edge of the booth, pulling you along with him to let Renjun sit at your other side, allowing him to be squashed in between you and the wooden barrier instead, which he seems weirdly content with, although he does wince when he feels your purse dig into his side and you’re quick to move it with an apology, but he dismisses it with a wave of his hand and smile. 

You’re pressed right up against Jeno now, his arm bringing you even closer to him than usual but he lets you go after a certain while, fingertips brushing against the exposed skin of your back from where your shirt has risen up. He pulls it down on his way, keeping you decent before dropping his arm back into his lap. 

Goosebumps crawl up your skin from the touch and you involuntarily shiver at the feeling, straightening your posture and tearing your attention away from his wandering eyes, completely missing the way his lips curl upwards into a grin. 

What you don’t miss is Eunkyung staring at you and as soon as you meet her eyes, her lips pull into a tight smile which you return back, grabbing your glass of coke to distract yourself from what just happened.

“You. Put that down” Donghyuck points a finger at you, shaking his head with a tut. “We’re doing shots before we continue drinking. You pick first” Going for the easiest option, you reach for one of the shots that tipped over earlier, picking one with the least amount of drink and his mouth opens wide as if you just outwardly offended him. He doesn’t even get a chance to say anything as the others begin to reach for their own shots, clinking their glasses together and Donghyuck’s quick to join, eager to drink.

You’re pleasantly surprised at the fruity taste that slides down your throat but winces at the burn it leaves behind, similar to Renjun beside you who starts to complain.

“What the fuck was that?” He curses, grabbing his beer to wash down the taste of the shot. “What flavour was th—What did you fucking buy?!”

“I don’t know, a whole bunch of different flavoured shots” Donghyuck shrugs his shoulders as he picks up Renjun’s empty shot glass, taking a whiff. His eyebrows raise in surprise, “That’s passionfruit! I had that too, we matched!”

“I hate passionfruit” Renjun almost gags, bringing the beer bottle to his lips again and chugging a few gulps. 

“I think me and Jeno had cherry” Eunkhyung announces, staring at the red stain on Jeno’s chosen shot glass. She grins happily, “We matched”

Jeno nods briefly before turning to you, “What did you have?”

“Raspberry” Jaemin answers for you as he winks at you from across the booth.

“So, I not only had to have a disgusting flavour but I matched with Donghyuck of all people?” Renjun scoffs, eyeballing every single one of you with irritancy, despite their being a little bit of humour pooling in his eyes. “Un-fucking-believable”

“So, what brought you ladies here tonight?” Jaemin asks you and Eunkyung after a few more drinks, courtesy to Eunkyung who had promised to buy everyone the next round. Originally, the next drinks that were bought by Eunkyung were supposed to be for Jeno, but with the other members now joining the table and their constant pleading, she ended up purchasing more than she should’ve. 

You felt bad knowing how pricey this bar was, making a mental note to pay for half of the drinks that were bought at the end of the night even if Eunkyung was giving you side glances to let you know that everything was fine. This was her favourite band after all, she would do anything for them if it meant spending a few more minutes with him… or even just Jeno. 

“Just to hang out with a few drinks” You tell him, eyeing over at the stage where a few of their set pieces are still laid. “We came to listen to your band too”

“Oh?” Jaemin smirks, leaning back into his seat, legs spread wide beneath the table. “Are you guys a fan of our music?”

“I’m a huge fan of your music” Eunkyung gushes excitedly and you allow her to take control of the conversation, leaning her elbows on the table to lean forwards so her cleavage almost spilling out of the top of her dress purposely. You admire her for her confidence even though you so badly want to tell her she doesn’t have to try so hard to get someone’s attention, she’s gorgeous. “I’ve been to almost every single one of your shows here!!”

“Have you been to any of our shows?” Jeno asks and it takes you a few seconds to realise that he’s talking to you when you notice everyone is staring at you, waiting for a reply. The corner of Jeno’s lip twitches upwards slightly as he tilts his head to the side, “Is this your first time?”

“She’s never been” Eunkyung answers for you and you nod your head to confirm. “She doesn’t even like this type of music. I practically had to force her out of her—”

“Is there something wrong with our music?” Donghyuck mocks offence with his hand pressed against his chest like you actually wounded him and Jaemin tuts with a quick shake of his head, mumbling jokingly about how much of a fake fan you are while Renjun stays silent with a grin, watching everything unfold.

“There’s nothing wrong with your music… it’s just that nobody can top WayV”

“You like Wayv?” Jaemin gapes at you, eyebrows shooting up to his hairline and you nod your head. “I think I might seriously be in love with you right now” The boys laugh at that, teasing Jaemin for his ‘embarrassing’ choice of words while Jeno remains quiet with a small grin on his face, keeping his eyes on you which starts to make you feel a little bit stuffy, especially with how his body is pressed against your side too.

“WayV is incredible” Eunkyung pitches in above the laughter and you smile at her, forever grateful for the time she cleared her schedule to go with you to one of their concerts. You seriously owe her one for that. “Jeno, do you like WayV too?”

“They’re great” Jeno hums, his answer short and to the point. Eunkyung beams excitedly and she opens her mouth to speak again but Jeno’s already beat her to it, “Is this really your first time watching us here?”

“Yeah” You confirm, glancing over at Eunkyung who seems a little defeated and you frown at that, not wanting to see her upset or left out so you point over at her, hoping to bring his attention to her this time. “But, like Eunkyung said, she’s a huge fan of—”

“I think you should let me show you what’s backstage here…” Jeno leans forward to whisper lowly to you, even though it was caught by everyone sitting in the booth. His dark eyes stare at you through his pink bangs, awaiting your answer but you struggle to give him one when everyone is staring at you both. Eunkyung’s in complete and utter shock, mouth hung wide and brows pulling together.

She didn’t look impressed, not one bit, and you honestly couldn’t blame her with the way she has been flirting with Jeno this entire time only for him to ignore all the advances given and ask you if you wanted to see what was backstage. 

But the phrase itself must mean more than what it actually was due to how everyone was reacting. His members look quite impressed, maybe even a little smug too considering how they’re not so subtly nudging each other beneath the table and Jaemin’s wiggling his brows, mouthing the word ‘Jeno Magic’ which you caught after Donghyuck’s quick gasp. Eunkyung seems flabbergasted, unable to form any words even though her mouth opens and closes repeatedly.

“What do you say?” Jeno grabs your attention and you turn to face him as his hand knocks against yours lightly. His hand sneaks in the gap between the table and yours with his palm facing upwards, connecting your hands together by slipping his fingers through the gaps of yours, holding your hand gently in his. The warmth of his hand is a complete contrast to his cold metal rings that nip your skin, but it’s weirdly comforting as you find yourself curling your fingers to intertwine with his. “Let me take you backstage… just me and you, yeah? Come with me”

You are aware of how silly you must look right now, not speaking a word while the others are staring at you, awaiting for your answer. You’re unsure of what to say, especially when a big part of you wants to decline, to say how Eunkyung deserves this more than you do, seeming as she’s the fan of the band, the music and Jeno is her favourite member. But then there’s another part of you that’s telling you to take it, to grip his hand in yours and allow him to drag you wherever backstage.

You’ve always been unlucky in situations like these, always being the one that’s left behind during hangouts at a bar while others had fun with boys or getting drunk (which, to be fair, is all on you. You never were the one to go home with someone completely unknown or let yourself indulge yourself in alcohol until you were unable to function) It was never your thing. 

“Y/N—”

“Okay” You and Eunkyung speak at the same time, meeting her wide eyes with your own. You don’t even get a chance to explain yourself or even change your mind as Jeno’s already sliding out of the booth, his fingers tightening around your own and pulling you along with him. You hurriedly grab your purse to throw it over your shoulder, sending an apologetic smile Eunkhyung’s way as you’re whisked from the group, drowning out the noise of the boy's hollering and whooping behind you.

You clench your hand around Jeno’s as he pulls you through a crowd, ducking your head low to avoid the stares of randomers who watch you leave with him, wishing that they were in your position. You feel pretty confident at the thought of people being jealous over you and you dwell on the feeling a little longer until Jeno’s leading you both down a vacant hallway, heading towards a red door with the words ‘BACKSTAGE. STAFF AND BAND ACCESS ONLY’ written in bold font on the wood. 

“Here we go…” Jeno mumbles beneath this breath as he pushes open the door, allowing you to walk in first. You take a step inside, captivated by the fancy string lights that hang from the ceiling, bulbs flickering as Jeno flips the switch to turn them on. It lights the room completely, allowing you to see a colour scheme of pink and black filling the room. Walls coloured a neon pink with various posters plastered across them, a black carpet with instruments and clothes littered all over, and a leather sofa and glass coffee table in the middle of the room. 

Your eyes almost bulge out of your head when you see a pair of light blue undies thrown across the arm of the sofa and Jeno seems to follow your line of sight as he begins laughing, walking over and picking up the garment nonchalantly.

“Renjun had someone in here earlier. Hyejin” The name doesn’t ring any bells but you nod anyway, watching as he unzips a backpack with Renjun’s nametag on and shoves it inside, looking over at you with a playful smile. “He’ll probably want that for later”

“For later?” You dare to ask, but all Jeno does is throw you a mischievous wink as he zips up Renjun’s backpack and gently kicks it to the side, out of your wandering and curious eyes. You don’t really take much notice as he comes to stand beside you, too focussed on other things that you find scattered amongst the room. You spot a few zip lock bags on the glass coffee table, a few filled with pre rolled joints and others filled with pills and white substances. 

“Jaemin and Donghyuck” He whispers in your ear before you can even get the chance to question and you jump at the close proximity, not expecting him to be as close as he was. You feel his breath fan against your skin as he leans in again, mumbling softly, “They like taking a hit before performing on stage, gets their adrenaline high”

You hesitate to ask, “What about you?”

“Occasionally, but not tonight. Sober in that department right now” He moves around, coming to stand exactly in front of you. His hand comes up to touch your cheek, rings gliding over your cheekbone as he looks into your eyes. “You know the reason why I brought you here, don’t you?”

“Apparently not just to see what’s backstage” You let out a lighthearted laugh, feeling slightly nervous under his touch and gaze. He smirks at that with a shake of his head and you gulp, your palms sweaty and clammy. “I don’t… I don’t do this type of stuff”

Jeno hums, “Do what?”

You feel embarrassed now, heat crawling up your neck and you couldn’t bear to look him in the eyes anymore as your focus shot down to his necklace. You wish the ground would open up and swallow you whole when Jeno grabbed your chin between his finger and thumb, lifting your head to meet his gaze once again.

“If you’re uncomfortable, I can take you back out to the bar right now” Jeno tells you, voice full of sincerity and honesty. “Just say the word and we’ll leave… I’ll take you back to your friend and I’ll even call a cab for you to get back home if you don’t want to stay”

“That’s the thing…” You pause, teeth gnawing down on your bottom lip as you feel the inner struggle of wanting to stay but also wanting to leave, more of the former. “I do want to stay. You’re… you’re pretty intriguing, you know?”

“Me? I’m intriguing?” Jeno chuckles, unable to hide the smile on his face. “It’s actually you that’s intrigued me. You caught my attention as soon as I saw you earlier. I’ve never seen you around before and yet you make me feel like I’m going insane, I just—” He stops, voice huskier as he stares at you. “I want you so bad. I want to play with you”

“Play?” You repeat, your own voice small and quiet.

“Will you let me play with you for a bit?” He asks you so sweetly despite the dark look in his eyes. “You want to play with me too, right? I can make you feel good… want to make that pretty little pussy of yours ready for me”

You nod your head weakly, “Okay”

You gasp as Jeno instantly twists you around, back pressed against his chest with his lips resting on your shoulder, nipping at the skin as his hands slowly slide down the strap of your purse, letting it drop to the floor with a thump. Your heart beats widely in your chest at his touch, trying to steady your breathing as his fingers fiddle with the hem of your shirt, knuckles rubbing your sides as he lifts the shirt up, bringing it over your head and letting it join your purse. 

His teeth snag at your earlobe and your crane your neck to the side, allowing to nip and suck at the area as much as he pleases, eliciting a satisfied hum from you. His hips push forwards, his bulge rutting against your lower back while his fingers come down to rest at your hips. You fight the urge to laugh when you feel his fingers drum a beat on your skin, a similar beat to the one that was playing earlier when he was performing, but the urge to laugh disappears when his teeth bite down on the junction between your neck and shoulder, legs almost giving in from shock if it wasn’t for the grip he suddenly had on you.

“You’re so sensitive” He purrs against your skin, his tongue licking the forming mark. “Are you sensitive in other places too?”

“Jeno” You whimper his name when you feel his blunt nails dig into your hips to turn you around, his nose brushing your own before he leans in to push his lips to yours for the first time. The kiss was soft at first, a few second lip lock that caused your body to tingle with nerves that soon slips away when you feel the intensity grow, your hands sliding around his shoulders while his cup the sides of your neck, head tilting to the side as his tongue parts your lips. 

You grip the hair at his nape to bring him as close to you as you possibly could and Jeno happily obliges, body flush against yours with his hands secure around your neck, taking control of the passionate and heated kiss. It makes your head spin, lungs burn—desperate for air, but you couldn’t find it in yourself to part from him so soon. His kiss is intoxicating. 

“Need you t—” He breaks from you only to connect your lips again, unable to finish his sentence until he has to force himself back. “Need you to lie down for me”

You immediately drop down to the carpet with Jeno following in suit, not daring to even lay on the leather sofa after seeing the underwear Renjun’s fling had forgotten hanging off the arm, you shiver as you think about what else could be left behind. 

Jeno sits at your waist, knees planted on both sides of your body, the silver pointed studs on his pants pricking through the fabric of your jeans. You watch as he takes off his pink body warmer, his black graphic long tee coming off next, messing up his hair even more as it’s tugged over his head. You are in complete awe at his muscled body, hands coming out to trace the outline of his prominent abs and v-line that makes your mouth water. He’s fascinating to look at even without the punk-like clothing. 

His silver crossed chained necklace glides across your skin as he litters kisses and nips down your body, paying extra attention to your breasts that he’s eager to rip free from your bra, not even apologising as you hear the material tear from force.

Your head tips back with a gasp as his tongue rolls over your nipple before it's sucked into his mouth, teeth grazing against the sensitive bud which has you moaning at the sensation, unable to control the gentle jerks of your body.

“Pretty, pretty girl…” Jeno praises you, tongue swirling around the opposite nipple, fingers kneading your breasts. “You’re so sensitive, so easy to play with, aren’t you?”

“Jen—”

“Shhh…” Jeno shushes you as you moan a little too loudly, watching you with hooded lids as he pulls your jeans and panties down, discarding them somewhere to the side as he pries open your legs, eyes roaming down your body and to your glistening folds. Your heart races as he's looking at your pussy and you feel a little bit embarrassed, debating on whether snapping your legs close so he couldn’t look anymore or telling him to hurry up so you don’t feel hot under his gaze.

Jeno’s already crawling down between your legs before you can even react and your thighs almost close in on his head as you feel his mouth trail kissing around the skin of your inner thighs, teeth nipping at your most sensitive areas and almost lose yourself as his tongue presses in between your folds, his nose rubbing against your throbbing clit that’s been beginning for his attention. 

“Jeno…” You whisper out his name pathetically, back arching off of the floor as his hands join his tongue, two digits pushing through your entrance and curling upwards, drawing out a moan from you. He’s sloppy with his tongue, licking you in all the right places that has your toes curling over his shoulders and his fingers that fuck into you send you wailing. You’re loud now, too loud to the point Jeno’s free hand moves up your body to curl around your mouth, keeping your noises muffled in the palm of his hand. 

Your pussy squeezes Jeno’s fingers desperately and the vibrations of him chuckling against your folds sends your eyes rolling to the back of your head in pure bliss, unable to watch the mess of pink hair between your legs no more. He strokes your walls, the cold metal of his ringers that he should’ve taken off before even thinking about fingering you sends shivers down your spine. 

before even thinking about fingering you sends shivers down your spine. 

“Your pussy tastes so fucking good” His tongue presses in between your folds and you whimper beneath his palm, thighs shaking beside his head as he finger fucks you faster and harder, the wet sounds from your pussy making you want to curl up in embarrassment but your orgasm is rapidly approaching and you want nothing more than to come undone around his fingers.

He’s whispering praises at your pussy as he continues his ministrations through your climax, nose nudging your little bundle of nerves, messy and sloppy kisses on your folds, fingers curling to graze against the sweet spot and it’s enough to draw out a few tears, becoming far too sensitive for him to continue.

You’re pushing him back with your foot and Jeno laughs as finally lets you go, dropping your legs from his shoulders and kneeling in between them, watching as your chest rises and falls rapidly as you try to capture your breath.

“Doing so good for me, pretty girl“ Your heart warms at his praise and you peel your eyes open just in time to see him bring his two fingers to his mouth, covered in your slick. He keeps eye contact with you as he pushes the digits past his lips to suck them clean and you find the sight unbelievably attractive. 

He removes his fingers out of his mouth with a pop before his hands drop to his pants. He’s quick to get rid of the rest of his clothing, moving them out of the way with a hard shove so they wouldn’t cause any interruptions between you both. His hand locks around your wrist to drag you up into a sitting position, your forehead almost knocking against his chest at the harsh tug. 

His head dips low to kiss your lips softly before he orders you to turn around, to get on your hands and knees in front of him. You do as you’re told without question, flipping around with your ass in the air, cheek resting against the pink carpet. 

“Shit… I wish you could see yourself from this angle” Jeno curses, fingers dripping the flesh of your ass and getting the skin a few light taps. He shuffles forwards on his knees, one hand wrapping around himself to tap the head of his cock against your entrance, collecting your arousal with a low groan.

“Please” You manage to pathetically plead out and Jeno hums with a nod, licking at his lips as he pushes his thick head into you gently. Your eyes widen at the burning stretch, fully understanding how fucking big he is even without seeing his cock. He stops for a few seconds to let out a shaky breath with a laugh, rubbing at your hips as he feels you tremble beneath him, somewhat mocking you but you pay no attention as you wiggle your ass back into him, begging for him to move.

“Fuck” Jeno seeths through his teeth at the go ahead, moving his hand up from your hips to your lower back as he pushes in deeper, bottoming out completely. A strangled gasp rips from the back of your throat, nails scraping across the carpet in search of anything to grasp onto to keep yourself grounded as Jeno’s hips press against your ass, dick buried deep within the warmth of your walls that has him panting. You’re unable to make a noise, mouth stuck open wide as Jeno pulls his hips back before rolling them forward, thrusting back into you.

His deep strokes has you choking on your own words as you try to speak, try to tell him how fucking good it feels. He’s angling his hips, hitting a particular spot inside of you that finally has you squealing, almost sending you flying forwards if it wasn’t for his grip.

“I got you” Jeno chuckles between grunts, his balls hitting the backs of your thighs with loud slaps. “You like that, pretty girl? Yeah? Am I making you feel good?”

“Good” You spit out, mind too blank to come up with a functioning sentence. He laughs again as he finds a good rhythm to work with, a rhythm that has your eyes rolling to the back of your head. He’s moving too fast for you to register and the sound of skin slapping against skin has your head whirling. 

“I’m gonna cum in this pretty pussy of yours—fill you up, yeah? Gonna fill you up with my cum” The way his tone sounds and how jumbled his words are indicates how close he is to his orgasm and you’re not far behind. You wish you could move back against him, you wish you could do more than just lay here with your ass in the air. You want to make him feel good too, but you can’t find any of your strength and your mind is too clouded with lust and pleasure to even begin to move. You’re stuck as a moaning mess for him to use, not that you’re complaining. 

The only thing you can do is tighten your pussy around his cock in hopes that it would do something to make him feel good and he gives you one big thrust before he stills, his cock pumping spurts of cum in your walls as he hits his climax. The feeling alone sets you off into your last orgasm of the night, mewling at the warmth that spreads through you. He’s panting heavily, slowly rolling his hips to ride out the last wave of both your orgasms, smirking proudly when he feels your body tremble.

Jeno takes his time pulling out of you carefully and once you’re free, your body flops down to the carpet, the air knocking out of your lungs from the harsh impact. You gasp for air desperately, trying your best to regulate your breathing as you come down from your intense high, grimacing as you feel Jeno’s cum pool out of your pussy, making a mess of your thighs and the carpet beneath you. You go to turn your head over your shoulder to see if Jeno’s okay but you’re shrieking with a wince as you feel Jeno’s hands run up your thighs and to your ass, pulling your cheeks apart to lean down and leave a smooch on your leaking pussy, chest vibrating with a hum.

“Good girl”

tag list :- @wolfjeno . @matchahyuck . @niinjo . @painted-hills . @girlwholoveslpreppyattire . @jaeminsbebu . @jaeymark . @marksluvr0 . @tulips-stuff . @n0hyuck . @skzzznct . @marknojem . @pckeia . @jaehyuns-adorable-dimples . @gyulfriend

You can hear a stifled laugh from where you’re standing near the guitar stands and you don’t even have to guess to know who the culprit is. You can feel your friends’ eyes boring holes in your back from the other side of the room and you just know Jaemin and Donghyuck are having a field day seeing you like this. 

When you look back at the boy in front of you, you audibly sigh as he turns beet red, holding his hands in front of him and staring at his shoes. “Look, i’m sure you’re a really nice guy but i’m not really interested in dating–” 

You feel bad, even more so when he– whose name is still unknown– gives you puppy eyes. Automatically, your voice softens as much as possible and a frown takes over your face. 

“–you.”

Your back is still turned to your friends but you know they are listening in on the conversation as best as they can, hungry for anything with which they can tease you with. 

Donghyuck is glued onto every word you tell the poor boy, narrating everything in a whisper to Renjun. Renjun (you pity him, truly) doesn’t seem fazed by the ongoing situation, which only makes his best friend complain. 

You don’t even have to glance their way to know that Donghyuck is probably taking up all the space on one of the couches in the corner of the music room, legs dangling off and arms crossed over the backrest. 

You’re sure he’s smiling with every second that passes. He’s so evil, you think.

The boy in front of you seems to space out for a minute or so and you, being the awkward person and people pleaser you are, stay still in place, patiently and nervously waiting for him to gather his thoughts. 

He snaps out of it when he hears Jaemin chuckle about disliking “tomatoes” and you don’t think you’ve ever wished to be buried six feet under as much as you do now. Why can’t they just act normal in delicate situations!

You cross your arms over your chest, your hoodie (Jeno’s hoodie, so unofficially your hoodie) keeping you warm as cold wind enters the room every time someone opens the door. 

This is awkward– worser than usual.

It’s not the first time someone has confessed to you, but it certainly is the first time that you can’t even place a name on the person asking you out. Guilt fills your veins but you’re sure the guy doesn’t feel that good himself either. 

You place the notebook you were holding on the desk next to you and rake a hand through your hair, other hand on your hip as you wait. And wait.

The hoodie hangs comfortably off your shoulders and the mix of laundry detergent, mint and raspberry-lemonade fills your nostrils. In a way, the scent is comforting, surrounding and hugging you. 

You really like Jeno’s laundry detergent. Maybe he can tell you the brand he uses.

You also really like how fruity the hoodie smells– hints of raspberry floating in the air around you– just like the smoothie Jeno had bought for you earlier that morning. You think it’s cute how there is something that “belongs” to you on something that belongs to Jeno (you even smile a bit at the thought). 

Oh. This feels weird.

Just before you can turn around and glance at your friends, a small voice interrupts your thoughts. It takes you a few seconds to realize the boy (he’s probably a few years younger than you– maybe a sophomore?) is talking to you and when his eyes meet yours, he quickly clears his throat and starts over. 

God, you feel awful. You’re the worst senior ever.

This time, you really try to focus on his words, although the giggles and teasing chuckles coming from the back of the room make it a really difficult task. “uhm, you- you said you didn’t want to date me,” he gulps and you almost cringe at the tremor in his voice (poor, poor guy) “is it because you have someone else?” 

Well, you didn’t expect him to be so blunt minutes after getting rejected. 

Nodding your head a few times, your tongue feels numb and your fingers start to tingle at how tight you curl them into a first. You don’t really know what to say, partially because you don’t want to make the boy cry and also because you know your friends are listening. 

Donghyuck is listening (he’s always listening) and everyone knows how dramatic he can be. He would probably gasp and claim your reputation as the hot sultry cold-hearted bassist of your band is ruined.

Jeno is listening too. You don’t even want to start thinking about his possible reaction– that can be a problem for another day (procrastinating is your biggest flaw).

Oh well, honesty comes first. Your mom would be proud if she knew.

The words coming out of your mouth in waves are barely comprehensible and you realize mid-sentence that the one supposed to understand them the most doesn’t. So, after a sigh and a deep breath, you start over. 

“I’m single but I do have my eyes on,” you pause, voice cracking and ears red– you can just feel them watching you, ”someone.” 

(You hope the boy doesn’t realize how awkward and stiff you are).

It’s like waiting for a verdict, standing there in the middle of the room while the boy slowly comes to realization. When it finally dawns on him, he throws his backpack on a desk nearby and starts to quickly gather his things, scrambling to put them in his flimsy bag. 

Your mouth falls open but nothing comes out so you just stare in surprise. Just when he begins to zip up his bag, he turns to you and upon finding you staring at him, flinches, sending his open bag toppling to the ground. 

Notebooks, pens and papers cover the ground soon after and at the disheartening sight at your feet, you crouch down alongside the sophomore (or freshman, you’re not sure) to help him pick his stuff up. He likely didn’t notice you crouching down to help him because he flinches even harder when you accidentally brush up against his sleeve.

In a split second, he’s out the door, the words “I’m sorry” dying on your tongue. He’s left behind a few scattered papers, a textbook you were holding out to him and a single pen hiding near a desk leg. 

You, on the other hand, are ready to bury yourself alive. What an awful day (it all started this morning when you ran out of milk for your cereals– ugh, you really don’t want to talk about it!)

With a huff and pressed lips you get up from your spot on the floor, brushing off the dust from your knees and picking up your notebook from one of the desks. Shame overwhelms you as you walk back to your friends in the corner of the room, holding both books in your hands and trying not to let the embarrassment take over– you’ll probably cry. 

Jaemin is the first one to greet you with a grin you can only describe as malicious. His arms are crossed over his chest and he seems to have enjoyed the scene, just like Donghyuck, who whistles and pushes your thigh with the tip of his shoe when you walk by. 

You throw the two notebooks on the old shabby coffee table and plop down on the couch, burying yourself as deep as possible in the sofa. You grab a pillow next to you and put it on your lap, using it as a shield for your eyes. 

Donghyuck continues to laugh all throughout and you even hear Renjun let out a little chuckle. Assholes. 

Jeno is the only one you haven’t heard from since you’ve come back to your little circle and when you uncover your eyes, you notice how his jaw is clenched. He looks intimidating, one arm hanging off the armrest and the other behind you on the headrest. He’s lazily tapping the side of the couch with his fingers but you know it’s only to calm himself down. You don’t realize you’re staring until he speaks up. 

“Stop trying to analyze me, psych major freak.” oof.

You roll your eyes, huffing and expressing your discontent through a pout as you hug the pillow. It’s not long before he gives in and flicks your forehead, eyes softening. “Stop trying to make me feel bad, it almost works.” He mutters. 

(You like that you know his weaknesses by heart).

“Hey yn,” You whip your head around at the mention of your name. “you’ sure the guy wasn’t something for you? I heard he works at that new cafe on campus you like.” Jaemin laughs at his own joke and highfives Donghyuck, proud of himself. 

You fall silent for a short while. “Is that why I kinda recognized him?– anyways, that doesn’t matter, he could literally be my little brother!” You whine a bit, “you’re not even being funny…”

Renjun tsks at his friends’ behavior but continues mindlessly scrolling through his phone, clearly more invested in a random reddit AITA tiktok video than their endless banter. 

This time, it’s Donghyuck that decides you need to be teased. “So, are you going to tell us who your prince charming is, the oh-so famous guy you like?”

“Absolutely not.” 

“Oh c’mon!” Donghyuck offendedly throws his hands in the air, “If Jeno had asked you, you would have told him..” 

You can only chuckle a bit as your friend had already given up, sliding down the couch to prop his feet on the coffee table, ultimately making it creak. Jeno doesn’t miss the way your cheeks heat up, and you don’t miss how he smirks because he knows ‘Hyuck’s right. 

A small group on the other side of the room starts prepping some instruments so you let yourself relax, falling back against the backrest and pulling the hoodie’s sleeves over your hands. 

You really enjoy hanging out with your friends in the music room, it’s never boring. More often than not, the room is completely empty for you to use, and with its couches, taking naps between band practice is a must and a privilege on campus. 

Your seat on the red couch is your self-designated spot, and sometimes when you’re feeling extra childish, you tease Jeno about having deliberately picked the spot next to you, even though you know Renjun always chooses the beanbag and the other two always run for the leather couch, leaving him with no other option than next to you. 

Jeno never denied your claim though, because with time it’s like he indeed deliberately chooses the seat next to you, every single time. 

He also likes hearing and seeing you giggle after you tease him, but you don’t have to know that. 

If Jeno had to be honest with himself, he knew he was a bad liar when it came to you, but that didn’t stop him from trying to act like he was oblivious to your friends’ teasing concerning your close friendship. 

He knows they would probably text him later that day, snarky comments about how you’ve been wearing his clothes much more regularly than usual. And like always, Jeno would just send a disapproving text back, followed by two or three middle fingers emojis, depending on his mood. 

Tonight, it would surely be five middle fingers. 

There’s one thing he can’t deny though, and it’s that you are indeed wearing his clothes more regularly. At first, he would roll his eyes when seeing you in one of his sweaters during class, just to keep the act up, but now, he can’t help but look you up and down and give you a little nod. 

You had loved to point out that he smiled yesterday morning when seeing you, which he rushed to deny, ears furiously turning red. 

You looked good though– maybe he would lend you his new green hoodie (moreso “accidently” leaving it at yours after hanging out). He just knows the color would suit you.

His arm is still on the headrest behind you and your hair brushes against his sleeve. He could pat your head right now, or fiddle with the loose strands of your hair, his hand is right behind you. He doesn’t let himself indulge in that little fantasy (he’d prefer to call it a fleeting thought) of his though. Not yet at least.

Your eyes glance over jeno’s profile, watching his hair fall in front of his eyes and his eyelashes flutter, before a small chuckle escapes your mouth. You turn to Donghyuck just as Jeno looks at you, curious. 

“Maybe I’ll tell y’all one day.” You smirk, acting disinterested as you study your nails, shrugging, “Maybe not.” 

A loud whine escapes Donghyuck and you have to cover your giggles so as to not “offend” him more. Your friend drags his plea on, lifting his arms in the air to show his desperation and getting slapped on the arm by Jaemin in the process, trying to shut him up.

Shivers run down your spine when you feel Jeno’s breath near your cheek and your eyes widen slightly, not used to the proximity. When you turn your face to look at him, body slightly stiff, you make eye contact with him and he seems entertained by your reaction. With the way his eyes shine and his lips are curled, you know his tone is going to be teasing. “Y’know, you were very professional back there..” 

You don’t answer directly, startled, so your laugh sounds a bit breathless as you try to find the right words, your mouth suddenly dry. “You think so?” 

He hums, leaning back a bit and spreading his legs before lifting one over the other. “If you need me to pretend to be your boyfriend, just ask,” With a grin, he swipes his fluffy hair back, some strands immediately falling back, too unruly, “I’ll come running.” 

You’re surprised by his forwardness but can’t help but find it endearing– the way his smile turns warm and adoration fills his eyes. It’s something you’ve always enjoyed seeing in Jeno, and knowing it’s directed towards you makes you giddy, your cheeks heating up.

You’re shying away but you don’t really want him to know all the effect he has on you– although you’re sure he knows quite well already– so you tease back, head tilting to the side, “Jeno Lee, are you offering yourself to me on a silver platter?” You furrow your eyebrows dramatically, mouth opening in a mocking gasp. 

In return, Jeno eyes your crossed arms and cocks an eyebrow, “I wouldn’t want to overshadow your crush though.” 

You lick your lips and Jeno stares.

“He won’t have to know.” 

A smile breaks out onto his face and you tear your gaze away, too embarrassed by your own words to face him. You can still feel his eyes on the side of your face so you look down to his jeans, swiftly flicking his upper thigh to direct his attention elsewhere. Anywhere but on you really. 

A short chuckle leaves him before he’s coughing to cover it up, wanting to please you. It’s not long before he too faces your other friends and allows himself to relax a bit, finally rejoining the friendly banter in your circle. 

You don’t question it and Jeno doesn’t express it but the arm he slides over the backrest and around the back of your neck and shoulders means something. The weight of his toned arm feels nice on your shoulders and the touch of his fingertips against the sleeve of your hoodie is almost fleeting, but still present. 

Unconsciously, you smile and Jeno thinks you’ve never been prettier, with his arm around you and a soft blush adorning your cheeks. 

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Drink and forget. 

That was your plan for the night, and what’s a better way to achieve it than attending a party with your friends? 

“Woah! Girl, slow down,” Yunjin scolded you, taking the shot glass out of your hand, “it’s been half an hour, Y/n. If you take another shot then you’re going back to the dorm.”

You groaned, “you know why I’m doing this Yun. I should’ve listened to you and Rina.”

Hyuck whined, “what’s the point anymore? You didn’t listen to them and still fell for him instead of me which resulted in him breaking your heart.” 

That earned him a smack on his head by Ningning, who now turned to you with a smile to lighten up your mood, “it’s been two weeks already, babe! Let’s forget about him and dance—” she said, her last word trailed off as she stared at the party entrance, the same time the music got loud. 

“I can’t believe he left so easily,” you whispered to yourself, gulping down your sentiments before paying attention to where your friends were staring, turning around to look at the entrance gate. 

There he was, the reason why you had been cooped up in your room, crying your heart out. The reason why you were drinking to numb your feelings, yet it all went downhill the second your eyes fell on him. 

Na Jaemin. 

His walk was confident, his sculpted face looked more charming than ever as he sported his ever so gradient smile looking indifferent to what had happened between you both. 

Topping it all, he had a girl clinging on to his arm, giggling as she pulled his arm to be pressed between her tits. She was clad in a mini dress which barely hid her ass and your friends glanced back at you with a nervous expression on their faces. 

Your face, however, remained stoic as you exhibited no sign of emotions despite feeling the anger burning up inside you, your fist clenching as you saw them walk towards your group. 

You couldn’t believe how Jaemin was the same guy who used to give you shy smiles whenever your groups used to sit together as he was a close friend of Mark and Hyuck. 

Your friends had warned you, they did, but you were so blinded by his innocent face and pure smile which held secret promises of sincerity and a hope of something more. You took your time to notice that he cared for you, even waiting outside your classes with a bouquet at times. 

He had you swooning, ignoring the warnings and signs you should have seen coming. His sweet talk lured you right into his trap, and you found yourself saying yes to him in a heartbeat, marking the onset of your honeymoon phase. It was dreamy, to the point even your friends were convinced he had changed his ways and finally decided to settle down. 

Yet, deep inside you could feel your gut telling you that it won’t last, and he proved it just right when he forgot your one month anniversary, when he forgot the flavour of your favourite ice cream, when he didn’t bother calling you or taking you out on dates. 

When he admitted that he was bored and wanted out. 

It lasted for two months before he decided to break up, leaving you standing by yourself in your dorm, tears cascading down your face before your roommates heard a broken cry leave your mouth. Yunjin and Karina never left your side after that. 

Others tried to talk some sense into Jaemin but it was as useful as a chocolate teapot. 

The hope of him regretting his decision went downhill when you saw him with this new girl, barely two weeks after your break up, the corner of his lips turned up into his usual smirk as he stood in front of you all, getting no smile or greetings yet he didn’t mind. 

It was a rare sight to see his best friend frowning, nonetheless a frown of disappointment settled on Jeno’s lips. 

Despite the loud music and the array of sweaty bodies dancing all over the room, you could feel the deafening silence in the circle of your group until a small whine came out of Jaemin’s new girl toy, who pouted and whispered something in his ear, giving you the opportunity to look at Yunjin, who looked equally disgusted at the exchange. 

The girl must have asked him to introduce her because he nodded with his usual smile, turning around to face everyone as he spoke up, “hey guys! Meet my new girlfriend.” He motioned at her to speak up. 

Her fake giggle made you want to throw up, and you noticed how you weren’t the only one who felt this way as Hyuck excused himself from the conversation, rolling his eyes, which made you smile. 

That didn’t stop her, “hi guys!” She exclaimed, dragging out the hi, “I’m Linda.”

A series of snorts and coughed up laughs emerged as she proceeded to introduce herself, which included you who tried your best not to laugh at her oblivious state, completely disregarding the fact that she was not welcomed here. 

No matter how heartbroken you were, feeling like a fool as Jaemin’s eyes took your outfit in wasn’t something you’d allow to happen. You didn’t bother excusing yourself as you left the circle, Yunjin following you in a beat as you just missed the whine Linda let out at your disrespectful actions. 

“The fucking audacity?” Yunjin was furious, your inner turmoil matching her expression, “I can’t believe he’s got the nerve to bring that bimbo here.”

You wasted no time in gulping down your fourth shot, no one bothered to stop you this time, knowing well you needed it as you tried to keep your tears at bay, it was too late to say you regretted saying yes to the player. 

Your body felt hot as your mind clouded into a hazier state, the confidence overpowered your painful state, your legs taking you to your friends who knew you were drunk beyond your capacity as you danced with them, rolling your body and letting yourself free. 

Yet the one thing that never left your mind was revenge. 

You wanted revenge. 

The booming voice of your alarm clock was successful in contributing to your raging headache as you opened your eyes with a deep groan, feeling disoriented and your hangover building up. 

“Fuck—” you muttered, shutting up your alarm. 

You were surprised to notice the medicines and a bottle of water that was kept on your nightstand, and you didn’t waste a second before gulping it down to help your headache as well as your parched throat. 

Being grateful that it was a Sunday, you slumped back down, trying to recall the night but the only memory that stayed in your head was the one of Linda squishing Jaemin’s arm on her boobs. Your jaw clenched at how easily he moved on. 

Just then, Karina entered the room with a small smile. She was the only one who looked normal as she wasn’t at the party yesterday. 

“Oh! I was just coming to wake you up. We’re all going out for brunch since no one is in their right mind to cook,” she informed you with an amused look, noticing how you were still wearing your dress from last night.  

A shower was exactly what you needed at the given point as you tried your best to get ready in fifteen minutes, your mind filled with ideas to take revenge, no matter how childish it sounded. But how? Well, searching the net didn’t help much. You weren’t going to post a bad picture of him in the name of revenge.  

It also wouldn’t work because it was impossible for him to have a bad picture. 

You sighed, linking your arms with Yunjin and Karina as you got out of the car which the latter drove as you walked inside your usual diner to see everyone sitting together after aligning the tables. 

Hyuck pulled you to sit with him, he barely had his eyes open as Mark went on telling everyone how Hyuck got pissed drunk last night and made out with his knee while crying. 

The scene was easy to imagine which made you all burst into laughter at the poor boy who could only whine, “your knee tastes like mustard!” 

The laughter died down when you felt a repeat of yesterday happening yet again. It was a friends only brunch, but apparently, Jaemin’s Linda didn’t get the memo. 

You could see his best friend trailing behind him yet again and you wondered how Jeno handled Jaemin despite his actions which now made everyone uncomfortable to some extent. 

“Should I punch that asshole?” Hyuck asked, whispering in your ear and you sighed for the tenth time today, shaking your head as you completely ignored the two people and focused on eating and chatting with the ones who made you feel better, however, you could feel Jaemin’s eyes staring at you. 

You just wanted to go back, already tired of the couple who couldn’t keep their public display of affection at bay. Now you were sure it wasn’t just the hangover that made you wanna puke. 

“I think I just lost my appetite,” you commented, causing the guy in front of you to snigger. 

You looked up for the first time to see Jeno sitting opposite to you, sending you a smile once he saw you looking his way, which you returned easily. 

He usually kept to himself and he wasn’t the talkative one in the group. You had only talked to him while greeting him whenever your groups met, and once when Jaemin got drunk beyond control at a party and so you had to call Jeno to pick him up. Your interactions were limited to him because of one person. 

Your smile dropped the second you heard that annoying giggle again, Jeno only looked your way with a small frown after as you averted your gaze back to your lap, gulping down your anger. 

The sound of a message notification from your phone grabbed your attention, and you opened it to find your group chat being active. 

Uni haters 🤬👊🏼 (minus Jaemin)

mOrk: uhh yo guys this is awkward 😬

hyuckie: can’t believe i lost my title of annoying king to jaemin’s gf??? 🤬

ningx2: she’s not even a guy

yunjinnie: but she’s annoying

ningx2: can’t argue w that 🤪

rinaa: let’s just eat and leave as soon as we can, the air is suffocating me 🤕

you: too late i can’t eat anymore 🤡

injun: im leaving i can’t w this bullshit, she didn’t even wear her wig properly 

mOrk: holy shit? she’s got a wig on?!?! 😨

You laughed as you noticed Renjun calling the waiter for the bill, which you all split as soon as you can and made your way out of the suffocating place, leaving the two in there as Jeno too decided to leave early. 

The drive back home was barely five minutes long, which soothed your nerves as you sang along to old songs Yunjin played on the speakers. 

They could notice how you looked exhausted, but it was more than that, they knew you had something in your mind and it was related to none other than your ex. 

“Okay, what’s going on?” Yunjin asked once you entered your shared dorm room. 

“What do you mean? I’m perfectly fine!” You tried laughing but it came out fake, causing Karina to raise her brows. 

“Spill. Right now,” she ordered, making you sit in between them as you clicked your tongue in annoyance, which wasn’t directed to them. 

“Fine. I want revenge,” you confessed, “he looks so happy and unbothered as if nothing happened? How can he say hi to me as if it’s the most casual thing in this world after he broke up with me saying he got bored? Ugh I hate his guts!” You ranted. 

“So, do you have any plans for that?” Yunjin asked. 

“Not really,” you muttered, “safari really recommended me to flirt with other guys in front of him,” you laughed, picking at the pillow cover of your couch. 

Yunjin refrained herself from snorting, “would he be jealous of a random guy though?” 

Karina laughed along, “yeah it’s not like you can date his best friend to make him jealous?” 

Your eyes widened, your head turning slowly as your lips curled into a devilish grin, immediately causing your friends to exchange nervous glances and speak up. 

“Don’t fucking tell me you’re considering this,” Karina blinked, incredulous. 

“Listen—” you started, only to be cut off midway. 

“No way,” a breathy laugh left Yunjin as she tried to contain her words and make you understand without any cussing. 

“It’s not a bad idea, okay?” You tried to convince her. 

“So what? Are you gonna seduce Jeno?” She asked. 

You laughed which sounded more like a pfft, “of course not, silly! We’ll fake date each other!” You said, face shining as if you had presented the greatest idea known to mankind. 

“Be so for real right now,” Karina deadpanned. 

“Lord, Y/n think straight. This is real life, you’re not in a cheesy rom-com movie or a book,” Yunjin provided her input. 

“I know! But I just have to make him jealous for what? A month before he gets bored of that Linda girlie, and maybe Jeno would agree to it too!” You nodded at the possibilities. 

“I can’t believe this is happening.” Yunjin rubbed her eyes, “me either,” Karina said as they both looked at you with an expression you couldn’t decipher. 

Your smile only got wider, “this is the best way to make it work!” You announced before looking at Karina sheepishly, “please send me Jeno’s number Rina,” you said in a sweet voice, knowing she was the social butterfly of the university before you waved a goodbye at them, walking into your room, formulating a plan alongside. 

“This is gonna be a disaster, right?” Karina asked Yunjin, sighing. 

“Oh definitely, it’ll be a show.”

You walked in your room, contemplating if it would be alright to discuss this on text or if you should meet up with him, the latter option was more plausible yet scary because what if Jeno laughed at you? What if he didn’t agree to work with you for the sake of his friendship. 

With such a stupefied idea, the possibilities were endless. Besides, you weren’t gonna ask for a lot, just a little hand holding, maybe hugging but nothing beyond that. You have to play pretend and smile a lot around each other. That would sell your drama and that would make Jaemin jealous and realize that he lost a gem. 

You waited and thought about it for a few days before finally giving in. 

You took a deep breath, giving yourself a last nod of encouragement before you picked up your phone, saving the number Karina had forwarded you and clicking on his profile before sending a text. 

To: Jeno🐾

You: heyy jeno! 🥰 it’s Y/n, can we meet up? 

You wondered if that emoji was too much, but you did not get enough time to ponder upon it as Jeno texted you back in a minute. 

Jeno🐾:  Hey, Y/n :) sure, is everything okay?

You: yess! i just need to talk to you about something :3

Jeno🐾: How about Starbucks at 5? 

You: perfect, i’ll be there ^^

Jeno🐾: See you <3

Your mouth widened at the heart at the end of the text, before you brushed it off, thinking that he sent it by mistake. You kept your phone on the nightstand, standing in front of your closet to select an outfit for your meeting. 

The plan was made, you just had to discuss it with Jeno but you had never talked to him before, maybe that is why your heartbeat rose up. He was a good looking guy, there’s no denying that and you’ve heard that he was one of the smart ones too. 

You bit your lip as you straightened out your top, rethinking your life decisions. There was no backing out now. You looked in the mirror again, satisfied with your outfit and makeup. You knew you looked stunning as you grabbed your phone and bag before driving Karina’s car to your desired destination. 

The place was almost empty except for a few people who sat and worked on their laptops. It was easy to spot Jeno, his dark hair shone under the dim lights of the cafe, he pushed his specs up for it to rest on his perfectly pointy nose, his lips parted ever so slightly as he focused on reading a book which you had never heard the name of. 

His aura looked calming, which boosted your confidence as you made your way towards the table he was sitting at. It was near the window, at the end of the cafe, which gave you enough privacy. Somehow the seating choice felt very Jeno to you. 

Clearing your throat, you mustered up your courage, smiling slightly. “Hey, Jeno!” You spoke, looking him in the eye. 

That was enough to capture his attention, he looked up at you with a smile that reached his eyes. 

He looked adorable. 

“Y/n! Hey, come sit please,” he said, gesturing at the seat on the opposite side of him. 

His eyes were soft as they looked at you sitting down, noticing a strand of hair which you tucked behind your ear, finally looking up at him, trying to find the right words to start the conversation. 

“Isn’t it weird how we’ve never talked before?” You chuckled, causing him to nod with a small laugh. 

“That’s true. How can I help you today?” He asked, keeping the book aside, carefully placing a bookmark before doing so. 

You kept your confident smile on, “I needed your help with this hypothesis I have,” you nodded as you explained it to him, and he was sure that the meet up was for academic purposes now, “so I need to take a little survey. Can you answer some questions for me?” You asked.

He nodded as you took out a notepad and pen from the bag you were carrying. 

“Sure, I’d be glad to help,” he smiled, eyes turning into soft crescents, which you stopped to stare for a second too long before realizing that he was waiting for your questions. 

You snapped out of your daze as you started scribbling on your notepad, “your full name?” 

“Don’t you know it?” He asked, confused. 

“Shh just answer, it’s the official protocol.” You huffed. 

“Lee Jeno.”

“Gender?” 

“Seriously—” 

“Just say it!” 

“Okay, fine. Male.”

“What’s your age?”

“I’m 23.”

“Introvert, extrovert or ambivert?”

“Introverted.”

“Marital status?”

“What?”

“Single? Okay. So on a scale of one to ten, how willing are you to help me get back at your best friend by being my fake boyfriend?” You asked, your smile never faltering. 

Jeno blinked once, then twice. “You lost me on that one,” he spoke up. 

His eyes displayed a mixture of shock and amusement, and maybe it was your figment of imagination that you saw him snigger but you weren’t the one to give up. 

Your lips jutted out in a pout, eyes shiny as you looked up at him, “c’mon! You won't let a girl beg for a little help, right? Especially when she was hurt so very deeply by the said ex, right?” 

Jeno looked at you, your pout only deepening in the hopes of him accepting your idea. He only leaned on his arm, coming closer with an enthralled smile. 

“So what you’re suggesting here is that I fake date you to get back at my best friend for hurting you?” He confirmed and you nodded enthusiastically, “how’s it going to work?”

“Easy! Jaemin isn’t the one who gets affected by a lot of things but if I date his best friend, that’s you, then he would get jealous and would regret breaking up with me,” you explained, “then I won’t take him back,” you announced, triumphant. 

Jeno nodded, as if contemplating whether the offer was worth it, “what do I get out of it?” He asks. 

“A fake and pretty girlfriend of course,” you smiled, “and a chance to teach your best friend some manners,” you shrugged as if it was a win-win situation. 

Jeno’s expression didn’t give out what he was thinking and you were patiently looking at him for some sort of answer, hopefully a positive one. 

“Do I have time to think?” He asks. 

“I would give you some but then I’m an anxious being,” you stated which elicited a laugh out of him as he never expected that coming out of you. 

But he had seen it all, the way Jaemin behaved with you. He forgot all important dates, gave priority to his parties and the friend group which was potentially harmful for him, not to mention that his reason for breaking up was worse than the worst excuse, saying he got bored, only to find a girl two weeks later. Jeno truly hated Linda as she accidentally broke his favourite vase while he made out with Jaemin in their shared apartment. 

“Fine. How are we going to go about this?” Jeno sighed, giving in finally as he saw your face practically lighting up with excitement. 

“Wait! Does this mean you’re in?” You asked just to be sure. 

“I don’t think I have any other option,” he teases but you don’t mind, you were simply enjoying the feel of victory already, “so, now what?” He asks, finally realizing what he had gotten himself into. 

Fake dating. 

“Now, we’re going to set some ground rules, which of course, we’ll write down and sign as a contract,” you say, getting a page out of your notepad. 

“Like that one movie by Jenny Han?” He raised his brows. 

You stopped to think for a second, “yeah but it’s not like we’ll fall in love or something,” you shrugged with a laugh and he nodded. 

Y/n and Jeno’s rules of fake dating! <3

Don’t fall in love 

Hand holding is okay

Drive to the uni together 

Nicknames are a must!

Kissing is not allowed!!

Don’t tell anyone except for Yunjin and Karina 

Break up once the goal is reached. 

Goal: make Jaemin regret breaking up!! (Additional: get rid of Linda)

Signatures

You passed the sheet to Jeno, “anything you’d like to change?” You asked as he read it all, and you noticed his brows slightly scrunching as he did so, exactly how they were scrunched when he was reading his book earlier. 

“I’m assuming you told your friends already,” he pointed out rule number six, to which you nodded sheepishly. 

“No kissing?” He asked, “you know no one’s gonna buy it if we don’t kiss, right? But of course, if you’re not comfortable then it’s fine.”

You bit your lower lip, wondering if you should consider it since he was right. Kissing is the easiest way to show affection, “I think you’re right, we’ll do it only when it’s required,” you said, and he nodded. 

You wondered how he was so calm with all of this, and you liked that he was asking questions about it all. 

“What’s with the nicknames?” He read rule number four. 

“Jaemin is big on nicknames, I bet he calls you some too. He used to call me princess,” you sighed, remembering how it used to be. It hurt but the current hatred overtook that feeling. 

“Alright, sweetheart,” he whispered. 

Your eyes widened at his deep tone, but he only smiled, “just practising,” he said and you nodded, gulping down. 

“Okay, so is the list done?” You inquired. 

“Yeah, I just have to add one thing,” he said, scribbling down another rule while you asked him random questions. 

“Have you ever dated before?” 

He shook his head, “you’re my first,” he winked, and you wondered how he was so good at flirting. 

“So—” you were going to ask another question but it seems like he knew what it was. 

“I know I’m silent but it doesn’t mean I’m inexperienced,” he stated, and you were amused as it was the first time he saw him being this way, “besides, this deal of ours would benefit me by driving the girls away.”

“Right,” you snickered, looking at what he had written, “why PDA?” you asked. 

“Because that’s the key to irritate Jaemin, especially with Linda around who sees no other seat but Jaem’s lap,” he explained as your face scrunched at the image. 

“You really are smart,” you muttered, signing the contract before handing it to him, who was quick to sign it too before you extended your hand. 

His big hand encased yours in a handshake and you couldn’t help, but notice how his fingers were slender, veins visible on his hands as his grip was firm on your hand. 

You had sealed the deal. 

Y/n and Jeno’s rules of fake dating! <3

Don’t fall in love 

Hand holding is okay

Drive to the uni together 

Nicknames are a must!

Kissing is not allowed!!

Don’t tell anyone except for Yunjin and Karina 

Break up once the goal is reached. 

PDA whenever the target is around!

Goal: make Jaemin regret breaking up!! (Additional: get rid of Linda)

Y/n       Jeno 

Signatures

“Listen, I know plans don’t work at times, there’s no reason to be sad over it—wait why are you smiling? There’s no way—” Yunjin asked as soon as you entered your dorm after your meeting with Jeno. 

“He agreed,” you squealed. 

“You’ve got to be kidding me. Jeno? The scholar guy who’s silent for the majority of the time, the guy who’s never had a girlfriend before, he agreed to fake date you?” Karina’s mouth was hung open and you only nodded excitedly. 

They both looked at each other before nodding, “now, you need a day out. We’re talking waxing, getting your hair done, and preferably your nails too since you’ve had that colour for too long and new clothes—” they made a list as they successfully dragged you out for all of it the next day, saying it’s a little something they’d want to contribute to your fake dating strategy. 

You didn’t mind a bit of it, being pampered was something you loved and it was long due as you had devoted all your time to crying after your breakup. 

It was when Monday rolled by when it finally settled in. You were going to pretend to date Lee Jeno, in front of everyone. Your friends gave you last minute pep talks and you were more than glad that they had decided to help you dress up too. Just then your phone rang with a notification. 

Jeno🐾: Morning, sunshine <3 Ready to sell our show? 

You: good morning!! i'm more than ready! are you tho? 👀

Jeno🐾: I’m already waiting for you outside, love ;)

You almost choked on the water you were drinking as you remembered the rules. You had to go to the university with him, “bye guys! He’s here,” you said to your roommates, getting up and grabbing your bag as you made your way out in a hurry. 

Jeno was standing by his car as he lived in the apartments and not the dorms, which was ten minutes away from your university campus. As for your dorms, they were a solid five minutes walk from your room. 

He looked up from your phone as he heard you walking closer to him, “hey,” he smiled. 

“So punctual, you’re right on time,” you said, “seems like you’re excited.”

He chuckled, opening the passenger seat door for you, “I can’t say I’m not excited to see other’s reactions,” he admitted as you sat down inside, thanking him softly. 

Jaemin had never once opened the door for you. 

He got in the car, focusing on the road, “what’s the goal for today, princess?” He asked in his deep tone. 

You blamed your overly sensitive skin for the tingling you felt due to his voice, also sitting to notice how his face looked like a sculpture.  

“Soft launching our relationship,” you answered, clicking his picture. 

“In the cafeteria, during lunch then?” 

“Exactly! You just have to sit next to me and smile, that’ll be enough for Hyuck to suspect something,” you explained the basic plan just in time as you reached the university parking lot. 

“Why? Do I never smile?” He asked, getting his seatbelt off. 

“You do, but only to our group. Others get a neutral expression only,” you pointed out as if you had analysed him fully. 

“Wait,” he stopped you from opening the car door, getting out and opening it for you with a tiny smile. 

Well that worked since people were nosy enough to notice a girl coming out of Jeno’s car, which is a scene that never occurs. 

He politely offered you his hand as he helped you stand up. His hand was warm juxtaposing your cold ones, as he pulled you towards him, your shoulder pressed against his chest, which you could feel was chiselled, he definitely had pecks. 

“Smile, princess,” he whispered, and you overcame your state of hyper focus on him before putting on your best smile. 

“What are we doing?” You asked, your smile never faltering. 

Jeno was somehow really good at looking at you with fondness in his eyes, he’d be a nice theatre guy if he takes up acting. 

“Dropping my girlfriend to her class, of course,” he said smoothly, and you started walking, hand in hand. 

“You’re pretty good at this. Are you sure it’s your first time?” You teased, noticing others staring at your hands. 

“Why? Do you think I’m a good boyfriend?” He asked back and you were truly amazed to see him retorting to your questions, given that you had barely seen him talk before. 

He felt your hand slipping and quickly intertwined your fingers. The gesture made sure to send a shiver down your spine. 

Jaemin never held your hand while walking. 

“We’re just getting started, we’ll see how it goes,” you suggested, causing him to nod and continue the conversation you had left off. 

“So what you were saying back in the car is that people perceive me as someone who’s mean?” He tilted his head in question. 

“Of course not! They perceive you as someone who’s unapproachable.” You say seriously, you both stopped walking as you had reached the class. 

He blinked at you once. You blinked back. 

And you both burst out into soft laughter before he ruffled your hair slightly, bending down to your level, “study well, princess.” He winked, walking away to attend his own lecture. 

You tried your best to focus on the lecture as you jotted down the notes alongside, however the feeling of thrill kept your leg bouncing the entire time, your mind working out possible scenarios with everyone’s reactions. 

Soon, the classes were over and it was the time for your lunch break, which also meant that it was the time for you and Jeno to act in front of everyone else. 

“We’ll cheer for you,” Karina said and you could only laugh at her expression. She still couldn’t believe that you were going through with this. 

From the entrance of the big cafeteria, you could easily spot the table where everyone had already assembled. 

“Ready?” A deep voice whispered in your ear, successfully causing you to jump back. 

But Jeno was quick to grab your waist and pull you closer before you could trip, his eyes equally widened as yours, “god! You scared me,” you said, breathing in deeply to calm your heart. 

You could feel his scent infiltrating your senses, it was a perfect blend of woody and citrus, which was also paired with slight musk and mandarin. He smelled really good. 

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to,” he said, letting go so you could stand straight. 

His eyes were full of worry, mouth slightly agape and you smiled to let him know you were okay. “Now, smile and talk,” you said as you both walked into the cafeteria. 

“Do I really never smile?” He asked you, “because people are staring.”

“I told you already! You smile only with our friends and we have never really talked before, at least in front of others,” you laughed. 

The whole group went silent as the two of you approached. Haechan was the first one to raise his eyebrows as you sat down with him, but Jeno didn’t sit next to Jaemin. Instead, he sat down next to you. 

Linda, as usual, was sitting on his lap, but that didn’t stop Jaemin from staring at you and Jeno. 

“Something is fishy,” Hyuck pointed out. 

“What is?” You asked, feigning innocence. 

Jeno was silent when he wrapped his strong arm around your waist, pulling you slightly closer to him. You could feel your stomach tingling, and he simply smiled your way. 

“Firstly, I saw you getting out of Jeno’s car in the morning,” Hyuck noted, “secondly, he was holding your hand and he walked you to the class. Thirdly, he’s been smiling nonstop.”

“Dude, no way!” Mark simply laughed, thinking it’s another one of Hyuck’s joke. 

Ningning looked lost while Renjun seemed to be focusing on your expression, “I don’t think it’s one of his jokes this time,” he said. 

“It’s really not!” Hyuck whined, glad that Renjun was agreeing. 

“Does this mean—” Mark’s eyes widened. 

“—that they’re dating,” Yunjin said, acting her best as she widened her eyes, almost standing up at the confession. 

A series of gasps left their mouths, “what?” They collectively exclaimed. 

You tried your best to hold in your laugh as Jeno turned to look at you, and from the side of your eyes, you could notice Jaemin staring at you deeply with his jaw clenched. 

“They are! Look! He’s got his arm around her waist,” Hyuck exclaimed in an overdramatic way. 

“Guys—” you tried to say but Jeno stopped you. 

“It’s fine, princess. They know now,” he smiled, pulling you even closer in a side hug. 

That caused Ningning, Mark and Haechan to scream while Linda squealed, jumping on Jaem’s lap. 

Jeno caressed the corner of your lip adoringly, “no need to hide it from our friends, baby,” he said before looking up, “Hyuck is right, we are dating.”

“What the fuck?”

“Since when?”

“Excuse me?”

“Did you fuck?”

All eyes turned to Ningning in disbelief as she asked the question, “what? I’m curious,” she shrugged, everyone looking at Jaemin subtly to observe his reaction. 

You leaned into Jeno’s chest, making yourself comfortable as you saw everyone chatting excitedly, your eyes settling on your ex for just a moment to see his furrowed brows and hardened eyes, a vein popping out from his neck. 

Day one, successful. 

“So you’re dating now, huh?” Jaemin’s voice asked Jeno as he entered their shared apartment. 

Jaemin was sitting on the couch, face devoid of expressions as he asked the question. 

Jeno chuckled softly, gripping his bag tighter as he walked into the room, standing in front of Jaemin, “yeah. Who would’ve seen that coming?”

That caused the other boy to chuckle along, but it sounded strained, almost ending with a scoff, “I certainly didn’t see it coming.”

“You don’t sound happy for me,” Jeno said, his tone teasing. 

Jaemin was trying hard to keep his smile up, “What makes you think so?”

“Your smile. It’s strained,” Jeno pointed out, grabbing the bottle of beer in front of Jaemin and taking a sip out of it. 

Jaemin clicked his tongue, looking Jeno dead in the eye, “how can you date her? What happened to the bro code?” 

Jeno remained calm, “why? Weren’t you the one who was done with her?”

“She’s my fucking ex, Jeno,” he snapped. 

“That’s right, she’s your ex. She’s not yours anymore, she’s my girl.” Jeno smiled, keeping the beer back on the table before walking away. 

“Oh! And, try to be happy for us now, I don’t want my princess to be sad because of us, yeah?” Jeno gave him his infamous eye smile before returning to his room.

The plan was working. 

You didn’t have morning classes the next day, which is why you had to walk to the main campus instead of getting a ride with your fake boyfriend. Yet you left your dorm an hour before your lecture to meet up with Jeno as he had something to tell you. 

The one thing you liked about your University was its beauty, the gardens and fresh flowers only heightened up your spirits as you tried to find Jeno in the garden of the STEM faculty, which was mostly empty. 

You spotted Jeno waiting for you by a tree. He was reading the same book he had in the cafe the other day, you had also noticed how frequently he used to go to libraries during your relationship with Jaemin. He loved to read. 

“Hey,” you said, standing in front of him with a smile. 

“Hey there, princess,” he replied, making you tilt your head. 

“Why are you calling me that? We’re alone right now,” you laughed. 

“For practice, of course,” he said in a beat before he handed you a cup of coffee, the exact one which you get from your favourite cafe nearby. 

“How’d you know?” You blink, surprised at his sweet gesture, also thanking him for it. 

He shrugged, “I’m known to be attentive,” he said. 

Jaemin never knew your favourite drink. 

“Jaemin talked to me yesterday,” he told you as you took a sip of your coffee. 

“Yeah?” You asked, stepping closer to hear what he had to say. 

“Yeah, he truly hates this setting. He asked me how I could date you.”

“Oh my god, he didn’t even hesitate? What did you say back then?” You asked. 

“Hold on—” he said, grabbing your waist and turning you around, his hand resting on the back of your head as he pushed you against the tree. 

“What’s wrong?” You asked, eyes widening as he leaned closer, making your heart beat out of your chest as you looked into his honey brown eyes which were surrounded by little specks of gold. 

“Jaemin,” he breathed out, “he’s here and he’s looking our way.”  

To Jaemin, it might look as if Jeno and you are kissing but his lips are still inches away from yours, his scent pleasing your olfactory receptors as your ex only scoffed and walked away. 

“Oh,” you said in understanding. 

Jeno only chuckled, “so, he went on saying how you are his ex and I shouldn’t be dating you,” he continued to tell you the story. 

Only Lee Jeno can talk so calmly in such a compromising position. You wondered if Jaemin had left already. 

“What did you reply?” You asked, voice coming out in a whisper as your body became aware of his hand which rested on your waist. 

“That you’re not his anymore,” he claimed, “that you’re mine now.” He said, breathily. 

You gulped down your nervousness. You knew it was a part of the act yet you couldn’t help but feel your skin tingling ever so slightly as you nodded. 

“Is he gone?” You asked, referring to Jaemin. 

Jeno blinked twice, finally looking up to see no sign of your ex anymore as he stepped back and you breathed in deeply. 

“The plan is working perfectly then,” you let out softly. 

He nodded, eyes crinkling. 

“I almost forgot,” you gasped, “Yunjin gave me this idea that we should go on a date!” 

“A date?” He asked, knowing that it’ll just be the two of you there. 

“Yes. It’s honestly just to make it believable. We can go out, click pictures and have a good time by eating good food,” you said, looking in his eyes for confirmation. 

“Sure, let’s do that,” he agreed, making you smile as you said you’d text him the details before rushing to your lecture. 

Jeno simply leaned back, staring at your rushing figure with tender eyes. 

Another week had gone by swiftly and the only thing that bothered you were the girls who came up to you, asking if you were truly in a relationship with Jeno, to which you said yes with the sweetest smile you could muster, crushing all their hopes of having a future with your fake boyfriend. 

Hyuck was hellbent on knowing more about this newfound relationship of yours, Ningning simply wanted to know if the calm and silent guy was good in bed, Yunjin and Karina were amazing at acting as if they didn’t know it was fake. Mark approached Jeno as he tried to get a few tips out of him since Mark wanted to man up and confess to his crush. 

As for Jaemin, you haven't seen him for the past two days. He didn’t sit with your group during lunch, nor was in any of your shared lectures. Even his girlfriend came to ask you guys if you had seen him. Only Jeno knew that Jaemin had spent the past two days drinking at their apartment. 

That was the least of your concerns as Ningning kept asking you random questions. 

“Favourite hair colour on guys?” She asked. 

“Black looks heavenly,” you admitted. 

“And haircut?” She asked Karina.

“Anything as long as it’s not a bowl cut,” she winced, distaste for that haircut clear on her face. 

“But guys, undercut looks so fucking hot, you have to admit that,” you pointed out and everyone seemed to agree with you. 

The conversation was casual but Jeno decided to take it up a notch and surprise you with something you had decided upon, yet never executed. 

“Let’s go on a date today, baby,” Jeno suggested, again making everyone stop and stare at you both. 

“Dude, how are you so cool?” Mark whined, wanting to do the same with his crush. 

“I thought you were shy, but I guess the silent ones are the freakiest,” Ningning commented. 

“He’s literally talking about a date, Ning,” you sighed. 

“I can't believe he took you away from me,” Hyuck shook his head as you gave him a look. 

“You guys were never together in the first place,” Karina reminded Hyuck, and he sobbed dramatically. 

Jeno looked at you expectantly, his eyes seemed bigger than usual and you could swear they were shining just the perfect amount. It somehow made you look away, biting your lower lip in the process before you nodded. 

“I’d love to,” you admitted. 

“Perfect, I’ll pick you up at five,” he said, grabbing his bag and swinging it on his right shoulder. 

He noticed how you looked happy this particular day, your face had a certain kind of glow to it and your smile was brighter. It seemed as if you were doing better now, and your friends really loved to see you this way. 

He bent down, touching your cheek tenderly, pressing his lips on your forehead ever so gently, making your eyes flutter close at the soothing sensation. 

“See you then, princess,” he whispered, looking at you one last time before going to attend his next lecture. 

“Did he just?” Hyuck covered his mouth. 

You were just as shocked as the others, not expecting any kind of PDA at all, especially when Jaemin wasn’t around. That was the first time he had done it. You bit your lip yet again, looking down at your lap, trying to contain your smile. 

Yunjin and Karina looked at you before looking at each other with a knowing look. 

Then they smiled, wishing for the best.  

“What do I even wear?” You huff in distress, looking at your roommates who looked like statues seeing your bed full of random clothes tossed around. 

“You can simply ask him where you guys are gonna go, it’s not like you’re actually dating and it’s a surprise,” Karina pointed out. 

You stopped, saying, “you’re right actually,” but then you whined, “I don’t wanna ask him such simple things, help me out guys.”

Yunjin sighed, mustering her stylist expression as she gave your wardrobe and your bed a once over, quickly getting all articles of clothing she wanted before handing them over to you, solving your problem in two minutes maximum. 

“Don’t you think this dress is a little fancy? I mean, we’re probably going to a local cafe,” You asked, cocking your brow. 

“Just trust me and wear this babygirl,” Yunjin said, using her usual nicknames. 

You had just finished applying your lip oil, concluding your makeup as you got a notification from Jeno saying he was outside your dorm. 

You smiled unknowingly at the text, a feeling of excitement, or rather, giddiness creeping up your stomach as you bid your roommates goodbye, grabbing your purse and not forgetting to thank them for tolerating your tantrums. 

Walking out of the dorm and towards the exit, you stopped as you saw Jeno leaning against his car, which wasn’t an unusual sight for you, however, you had never expected to see him in a black jacket, thinking that he’d be clad in his usual hoodies. 

His hair was neatly trimmed as he sported an undercut, which he didn’t have in the morning, meaning he got it cut right after your classes. 

Right after you revealed your liking for the particular haircut. 

“Jeno,” you whispered, walking closer to him, noticing how he wasn’t wearing his usual specs either, probably opting for the lenses instead. 

He was lost in his own thoughts, his eyes fixated on the flower he held in his hand, completely immersed in his thoughts before he looked up to see you standing right in front of him. 

“Y/n,” he murmured, his heart pounding slightly as he noticed the light breeze gently swaying the hem of your dress, “you look beautiful,” he smiled, dissipating your jittering nerves and sending a wave of warmth through your chest. 

“You look so—” you tried to find the right word, eyes never leaving his face as you had never seen him look so bold before, “captivating.”

He laughed at your statement, “here,” he said, extending his arm and passing you the flower he had gotten for you, the tips of your fingers brushed against his ever so slightly, “glad I could captivate you, sweetheart,” he whispered, winking at you. 

You were left stunned, wondering where did he get his sudden boost of confidence from as you sat inside his car, watching him start the car, gripping the steering wheel normally, yet it made the veins of his hands pop out. 

You cleared your throat, “so, where are you taking me today?” You asked him. 

“Well, that’s something you’ll have to wait and see,” he teased, building up your anticipation. 

“Okay, is it far though?” You asked, falling into a conversation with him so easily, and he told you it would be an hour long drive, making you wonder where you were off to. 

There was something so endearing about others sharing their favourite things and talking about them, you loved to hear all of it and you felt even better seeing Jeno comfortable around you as he went on telling you about the books he’d been reading and recommending the ones you’d like. 

One hour felt like a few minutes with him, time passing by effortlessly. Your lips parted in surprise once you saw where you were.

It was the fancy restaurant you’d been wishing to visit from the past year, but never got a chance to do so, “oh my god, I really wanted to come here to eat,” you told him, smile brightening and you were glad you had dressed up for it. 

“I know,” he said, extending his arm for you to hold. 

You looked at him, incredulous, “how?” 

“I asked Karina,” he admitted as you held on to his arm softly. 

You were thoroughly surprised at his revelation, knowing that he could’ve taken you to any normal place nearby but he chose this. You were in awe at how beautiful the interior was as you focused on the little details here and there. 

“You didn’t have to do so much, Jeno,” you whispered, loving how his skin shone under the light of the chandelier. 

He shook his head softly, eyes never leaving your face, “I know it’s a fake date but it doesn’t mean that I’ll take you to our usual cafés, you deserve more than that.”

You breathed in softly, breaking eye contact and looking at your fiddling fingers. You felt as if your heart was beating out of your chest. Everything he did felt so genuine and well thought of. He cared about your likes and dislikes, he always took a note of your preferences. 

Jaemin never did that. 

“You’re too fucking sweet,” you muttered under your breath so he can’t hear it. 

“Hm?” He asked, menu in his hands as he scanned it thoroughly for all possible options. 

“Nothing,” you smiled, getting your phone out and clicking a few candid pictures of him, which did capture his attention. 

“What’s that for?” He looked at you with big eyes, his face giving out the cutest expressions despite him looking tough in his undercut and newfound style. 

“Why not? Can’t post my boyfriend on my story now?” You asked cheekily. 

It was something you both had decided you’d do, the likes and replies flooded in soon as your friends were flabbergasted at the fact that Jeno had cut his hair and dressed up so well. 

You both decided upon the dishes you wished to have and the waiter noted it down kindly, leaving you two alone to talk after. 

“Won't you post me too?” You asked. 

“I will, you just have to wait for a while. I promise it’ll be the prettiest picture ever,” he said, full of confidence. 

“Well, that’s a challenge then because I don’t usually like my photos,” you smirked and he leaned in. 

“We’ll see how that goes,” he challenged. 

It was great that you could share any kind of emotions with him, whether it was you being goofy, him being silent, or you being nervous as he turns to be confident. It was a mix of everything. 

Soon, your food was served to you and even the scent of the scrumptious meal was enough to make your mouth water as you hummed with delight with just one bite, saying it melted just perfectly in your mouth. 

You didn’t notice him watching your eager face, loving your reaction as he felt like he did the right thing bringing you here. Until you catch him watching you. 

“Is there something on my face?” You asked cluelessly, pouting as you ate another bite. 

“Actually, yeah there is,” he said, leaning closer to caress the corner of your lip with his thumb, brushing away the crumbs gently as you simply sat with your heart pounding at his gesture. Even more so when he smiled, licking his thumb, “all done.” 

“You’re really so good at it,” you muttered, and this time he heard it. 

“At what?”

“If you do this,” you said, gesturing at your lip, “to any girl then she’ll definitely swoon over you.”

He raised his brow, “why? Did you like it that much?” 

An awkward chuckle left your mouth as you tried to dismiss his question, “I’m just saying,” you state, trying to be as nonchalant as possible. 

He only laughed, “alright, sweetheart.”

You whined, and the other families around looked at you both with soft eyes, thinking you both were cute together as his eyes turned into crescents at your behaviour. 

You couldn’t remember the last time you felt so at ease being out with someone. That wasn’t just all, Jeno insisted on taking you to another place for a little walk. Night had fallen as you walked together on a rather empty bridge, yet it was a pretty sight—water reflecting the glistening stars along with the crescent moon. 

“How’s Jaemin?” You asked all of a sudden, not noticing Jeno’s smile faltering for a fraction of a second. 

“He’s coping in his own way. I bet he’ll be back to uni tomorrow. But he definitely regrets it,” Jeno lets out slowly, “isn’t that your goal?” 

You stop walking, trying to find the right words, “yeah,” you whispered,  “but it’s not over until he confronts me himself. I need some closure,” you said, looking at him with a teasing smile now, “why? Don’t wanna be with me anymore?” 

He licked his lips, biting his tongue as he smiled, which you noticed was another habit of his, “of course not. It’s good to have someone to talk to.”

“Yeah? Then tell me more about you,” you said, looking at the water as you folded your arms over the railing. 

He was silent for a few seconds, joining you to lean on the railing, “I’ve always been the shy kid I guess. I was the one who always used to read sitting in the corner of a class and so, I never really had friends.”

You didn’t glance at him, letting him speak freely. Jeno was one of the kindest souls you had ever met and it was obvious even in the little time you had known him. You wanted him to be happy. 

“Jaemin was my friend ever since we were kids, our families are really close so he was forced to befriend me. He didn’t mind it, he was the kindest child and helped me talk to others, he was also the reason why I met you guys,” he sighed, “Jaem was always first when it came to everything, he led the way for me and I let him do that each time.” He turned his head, looking your way as he whispered, “until I realized I should’ve been the first this one time.”

You couldn’t understand what he was referring to, yet you understood that Jaemin was dear to him, however his recent actions caused him to drift apart from Jeno. 

A flash of light took you out of your trance. Jeno had clicked your picture, “show!” You said, almost jumping closer to him and his shoulders rose up as he laughed when you tried to get his phone from his hands. 

“You’ll see when I post it,” he said. 

You whined again, “but what if I look bad in the picture?”

“You can’t ever look bad, sweetheart,” he said earnestly and you could feel your cheeks heating up as you closed your mouth shut, biting your lip as you looked away shyly. 

He chuckled, “let’s get you home now.”

You checked the time on your wristwatch, “oh, yeah. It’s late.”

You both started walking towards his car, getting off the bridge as Jeno saw you shiver with the sudden gust of chilly air hitting you. 

He wasted no time in getting his jacket off and passing it to you, “here, it’s cold.”

Your eyes widened to see him wearing nothing but a white tank underneath which displayed his muscles as the moonlight accentuated it further. You never knew he worked out, your eyes travelling to his arms which were veiny. 

Jeno looked unreal, almost like the bad boys you’d see in a movie but his well sculpted face made him look like a Greek god. He really had it all. 

You didn’t even notice you had stopped walking as Jeno wrapped his jacket around your figure, smiling slightly as you reached the car, his scent enveloped you aa you hugged the jacket closer to you.  

“T—thank you,” you spoke, mentally slapping yourself for stuttering. 

“Can’t let my girlfriend freeze now, can I?” He stated more than asked. 

He helped you get in the car by opening the door, which he always did. It was another habit of his which you found endearing. He got in the car soon, looking your way before he leaned in all of a sudden, his face inches away from yours, causing you to stop breathing for a few seconds. 

The shape of his lips was beautiful. 

He leaned back soon, dragging the seatbelt with him as he secured you in your seat. The proximity reminded you of how he kissed your forehead in the morning, and your mouth worked before your mind could as you asked him about it. 

“Uh, so—why did you kiss my forehead in the morning?” You inquired. 

He most certainly was not expecting that question, and his expression gave it away, “your friends were watching,” he stated, licking his lips, “and Mark was suspicious as we never kissed before or did anything other than hand holding,” he explained. 

“Did he ask you about it?” You questioned, hugging the jacket closer to your body. 

Jeno hummed as a reply, seeing you get comfortable on the seat with droopy eyelids, he knew you were going to fall asleep soon and he let you. 

His heart could only take so much for one day. 

He made sure to drive safe, glancing at your sleeping figure from time to time and he swore you looked like a baby when you slept. 

You reached back safely and he stopped the car, he didn’t wish to wake you up when you looked so at peace. He called out your name softly, coming closer to pat your shoulder. 

You stirred in your sleep, opening your eyes slowly to find Jeno close to you. 

“We’re here,” he spoke, voice low. 

“Oh,” you blinked a few times, trying to adjust to the street lights as you got out of the car, not expecting Jeno to get out along with you. 

You looked at him in question and he just shrugged, his muscles flexing in the process, “let me walk you to your door,” he said. 

Jaemin never walked you to your door. 

“Don’t you ever get tired of being a gentleman?” You asked with an amused smile. 

“Not when it comes to you,” he uttered quietly. 

Heat rushed up the tip of your ears now that you stood in front of him, “Jeno—” you whispered, “thank you so much for today. I can’t remember the last time I had this much fun on a date.”

A fake date, you reminded yourself. 

“It’s good to see you happy,” he took a step closer, “good night, princess.”

He was gentle as he slowly brushed his fingers on your forehead to tuck your hair behind your ear, he leaned in closer, his lips grazing your forehead in a featherlight kiss. You closed your eyes, the warmth of his kiss lingering on your skin as he bid goodbye to you. 

He was walking away by the time you could open your eyes and breathe again, not even bothering to ask for his jacket back from you. 

You looked around your place once to see if your friends were watching this time. 

They weren’t. 

Your room had a tranquil atmosphere as the moonlight coming from the window lit it up. Your roommates were already asleep in their respective rooms as you got changed into your sleepwear and took your makeup off, carefully keeping Jeno’s jacket on the bed, not once thinking that your pillow would exude a scent like him too. 

It was hard to sleep, as if you had a feeling of giddiness bubbling up inside of you. Even after tossing and turning, you couldn’t find a perfect position to sleep, not to mention how your mind had created a montage of today’s date, replaying it over and over. 

You sighed, staring at the ceiling before closing your eyes shut, hoping you’d get some sleep before waking up for Uni in the morning. And slowly, you drifted to dreamland with Jeno’s scent lingering in the air. 

Your alarm clock was your enemy. You really needed a few more minutes to catch up on your sleep, grabbing your phone to see if there’s something that could drive your sleepiness away. 

There was. 

Your picture was the first thing you saw when you opened Instagram, it was posted by Jeno instead of being put up as a story, which was unusual since he only had two pictures on his account—one of him and the other one of his cats. 

A soft gasp left your mouth, heart thumping out of your chest as you saw the picture. The flash made you glow and you had the tiniest hint of a smile on your face as you looked at the night sky. 

It was indeed your prettiest picture anyone had ever captured, it was exactly what Jeno had promised. 

The caption, however, made you turn around and grab your pillow as you screamed into it, kicking your feet. 

My girl, that’s what he wrote in his caption, paired with a red heart. 

You knew it was for show but that didn’t stop the butterflies in your stomach from going feral. It felt too real, the gestures, the little things. It felt more real than your previous real relationship and you weren’t sure how you felt about it. 

It was another day where you had afternoon classes, and so you did not go to the uni with Jeno. You had not liked or commented on the picture yet, pondering about how to go on about this. 

Jeno had texted you twice, wishing you a good morning first and then asking if you had your lunch yet. You were tempted to reply but first, you gained a slight amount of courage and liked his post. 

You typed a comment with the first thing that came to your mind. 

You’re mine forever ❤️

Your cheeks burned up as you kept your phone down on one of the picnic benches kept around the campus, as that was the exact place you were sitting at after your classes had ended. 

A very whiny and feminine voice called out your name, and you looked up to see Linda along with your ex and your fake boyfriend. The smile on her face was sickening and you wondered what they were doing together. 

Yet again, you did not think twice before getting up and burying your face in Jeno’s chest, wrapping your arms around him in an embrace. This shocked Jeno, you could feel him go still for a negligible second before a deep laugh boomed up his chest, you could feel him vibrate as he wrapped his arms around your frame. 

“Missed me that much, baby?” He asked, patting your head. 

Jaemin watched the scene unfold with dark eyes. 

“I missed you so much, baby,” you whispered. 

It was the first time you had used a nickname on anyone, heck you never even called Jaemin that. 

A cough separated you both and now you couldn’t muster up enough courage to look at Jeno while he couldn’t stop looking your way. 

“Linda wants to have lunch together, like a double date,” Jeno told you and you saw Linda nod excitedly. 

“It’s so romantic! We even got the lunch packed, see!” She raised her hand to show you two bags which probably had the lunch she was talking about. 

This day couldn’t have gotten more weird. 

“That sounds great!” You tried to sound cheerful but it only came out awkward. 

Good for you, Linda didn’t pick up your tone and clapped excitedly, “we only have thirty minutes because I have my salon appointment after so let’s be fast,” she spoke in a go. 

You noticed Jeno sporting the same look of confusion as you, it was an awkward situation indeed. Jaemin didn’t say a word, only observing you and Jeno. 

Jeno took the paper bag and got the packed lunches out. He had gotten you your favourite salad with grilled chicken as he opted to get the same dish for himself, not forgetting to get you coke, which you preferred to drink while eating. 

He really paid a lot of attention to your likes and dislikes. 

Linda really couldn’t read the room as she never once stopped talking about this new lingerie set she got for herself, “Nana liked it too,” she giggled and you tried to focus on eating, not having it in you to picture it in your mind.  

“I’ve told you not to call me that,” he spoke, his words harsh. 

That was the first time he opened his mouth ever since you started eating. Linda didn’t care, pouting slightly as she started talking again, “let’s play couples quiz!” She squealed. 

You could feel your headache growing with her high pitched voice. 

“Jeno, when’s Y/no’s birthday?” She asked. 

He fixed his gaze on you, answering the question correctly. You tried not to be shocked, displaying your sweet smile for them. He actually knew a lot about you, the eye contact made you bite your lower lip before you asked. 

“Jaemin, when’s Linda’s birthday?” You asked now, questioning him directly, which he did not expect. 

“Third of February,” he said and Linda gasped, offended. 

“That’s not my birthday!” She almost screamed, bickering with him for a solid minute as Jeno passed you a few tissues, seeing the salad get on your fingers. 

“Okay, next question,” she said and she kept on asking him questions as if it was a rapid fire round and Jeno answered each of them correctly. Your heart was thumping out of your chest, he knew your favourite colour, your favourite tv show and singer, your favourite cake and song. 

Jaemin knew nothing. 

Linda didn’t know a thing about Jaemin either, just like he never knew a thing about Linda. 

Jaemin slammed his fist on the table, getting up and walking away without any second glance, you almost jumped with how loud the sound was, your hand resting on top of your chest to soothe your nerves. 

Linda ran after him, or rather she tried to run after him in her heels. 

“Are you okay?” Jeno asked you softly, his fingers caressing your cheek as he searched your face for any kind of discomfort. 

You nodded, gulping and looking away. 

This wasn’t supposed to happen. Your skin wouldn’t stop tingling where he had touched you, it was almost impossible for you to breathe when he was so close to you. 

“Y—yeah, I’m okay. I think I should go and get my assignments done now, yeah,” you said, fumbling over your words as Jeno frowned, wondering if he did something wrong. 

“Y/n—”

“I’ll see you tomorrow!” You waved at him, almost running away, leaving him with a dejected sigh. 

Of course, you didn’t have to answer his questions, he reminded himself. It was a fake relationship after all. 

So, while you laid in your bed with your pillow clutched close to your chest, Jeno stood in front of Jaemin at their apartment. 

“Since when do you eat salad?” Jaemin asked, tone somewhat disappointing laced with a hint of jealousy. 

“Y/n likes it,” Jeno smiled softly, “It was hard not to like it after.”

“You hated coffee,” Jaemin almost accused. 

“I like it now, it’s normal to develop your taste,” Jeno replied calmly. 

“You’ve never gone on a date before, you’ve never had this kind of hairstyle before. You’re changing yourself and for what?” Jaemin sighed, shoulders dropping when he accused him again. 

Jeno only bit his lip, “love does things to you and I think I'm changing for the better.”

Love. 

That’s all Jaemin had to hear before leaving the room. 

“Why are you sulking, babygirl?” Yunjin asked you the next day, seeing you sitting with your blanket wrapped around you, a piece of chip in your mouth as you lazily snacked on it. 

“Nothing,” you mumbled, hiding your face. 

Yunjin rolled her eyes, “you were squealing in the morning yesterday, what changed?” 

You sighed deeply, “I guess I’m just feeling a bit down today,” you shrugged. 

She sat down on the bed, right in front of you before pulling you in the most warm and comfortable hug. It was something you appreciated even more this particular day. You felt conflicted with your feelings. 

It’s the little things, it’s always the little things when it comes to Jeno, it creates a bigger picture for him. But for Jaemin, it was only the larger picture with no elements supporting it. 

“That’s the problem, babygirl. I’m not gonna let you drown in your own blanket all evening. You’re coming with me to the party,” Yunjin stated, opening your closet to select an outfit for you already. 

Turns out that Yunjin can be a great manipulator because there was no way you’d be standing in the middle of a party with a vodka shot in your hand otherwise. 

Maybe drinking would help you, it always does. It’s almost pathetic how you’re ready to get shitfaced for a whole night just to get rid of intrusive thoughts, the thoughts which consisted of Jeno and Jeno only. 

You drank that shot in a go, getting another one as Hyuck tried to stop you but to no avail. Once you had taken three shots, all in a row, you turned around to find Karina, who looked as if she spent a while trying to find you. 

“Y/n! Where have you been?” She asked, grabbing your hand, “come, we’re gonna play upstairs.” Without much fighting, she dragged you upstairs and Hyuck followed behind. 

You wondered what Jeno would be doing right now. 

The multicoloured lights were shining bright as they covered the expanse of the whole staircase, which you had trouble walking up, courtesy of your heels and a very short dress. 

Karina opened the door to a room and your eyes immediately scanned the surroundings to understand who you were going to deal with tonight. 

It was your whole friend group and some of their mutual friends too, however that wasn’t why you stood frozen in your spot at the given moment. 

Lee Jeno, the guy you had been avoiding since yesterday, was sitting in the same circle, the bean bags, sofas and chairs were arranged to be that way, as he sipped on a can of beer which he held in his slender fingers. 

Seeing him at the party was shocking enough as he rarely attended any, but to add on to it, he was all dressed up as well. 

He sipped on the drink, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down as he gulped. The side angle gave you the best view of his undercut and defined jawline, your eyes travelling down to his chest, which was exposed as the top few buttons of his white shirt were unbuttoned, a black leather jacket covering him up as he also sported a few rings on his long, veiny fingers, a necklace gracing his slender neck. 

You almost forgot how to breathe until Karina pushed you forward, which gained the attention of Jeno, who smiled your way as he expected you to come over to him. 

Karina and Yunjin high fived in the background, meaning; it was their plan for you both to meet at the party. 

Your heels clicked as you walked towards him, it was as if you both were the only ones in the room at the given moment. He wasn’t being subtle as he stared at you, especially how he looked up when you stood next to him. 

“Baby,” he whispered, pulling you to him—which was something you never expected. 

You landed straight on his lap, his arm wrapped around you securely as the other one rested on your thigh, covering up your skin which was showing, courtesy of your short dress. 

Your mind blanked, you couldn’t think anymore as goosebumps rose up your arms when he spoke in his deep voice, the others also stopped to stare at you both as he was not the one to show affection in public. 

Hyuck and Yunjin teased you both, yet that wasn’t something you paid much attention to. You didn’t even see Jaemin sitting in the same room, as if he wasn’t anyone to you anymore. 

“I missed you so fucking much,” he whispered, making you sit close to him, your hand working on its own as it held on to his broad shoulder for support. 

You should have been used to this whole fake dating plan of yours, yet you couldn’t ever get used to Jeno’s constant surprises. It didn’t feel like it was fake when it came to him and it most certainly wasn’t a help how you could feel the alcohol kicking in, his hand felt warm on your cold skin. 

“Jeno,” you whispered, looking at him with hooded eyes. 

However, you never got to say anything further as others had decided on playing a classic game of twenty one dares. 

The first dare went to Mark, who was given the dare to kiss his crush who sat right next to him. 

“Why were you avoiding me all day?” Jeno asked in a whisper when everyone else was busy cheering for Mark. 

You had no answer for it, nor did you have any way to control your heart which was thumping out of your rib cage with the proximity. 

You breathed out with a chuckle which sounded forced, grabbing a beer can which was on the table in front of you, “avoiding you? Why would I?” You asked, looking away. 

That wasn’t much help as he was quick to grab your chin, making you look his way again, “did I do something wrong?” 

His actions were bold, yet his voice was sweet and full of concern. You shook your head, resting it on his shoulder, “of course not,” you whispered, not having it in you to look at him, “you’re really perfect, Jeno.”

He wasn’t given any time to react as others cheered. 

Apparently, it was your turn to get a dare and the evil smile on Renjun’s face gave it all away, as if he knew exactly what was going on between you two. 

“I dare you to kiss Jeno,” he smirked as everyone minus Jaemin clapped, Mark nodding, still red from the kiss. 

“True, we’ve never seen you kiss,” Hyuck muttered in realization. 

You stopped breathing, seeing everyone cheering for you. You had fake kissed him when Jaemin was watching that one day in the lawns, yet this was a whole different story when they were demanding an actual kiss from you both. 

Jeno’s hand tightened around your waist, your dazed eyes taking in his expression as he raised his hand to cup your cheek, caressing the corner of your lips gently, as if he was asking for your permission. 

You knew you were drunk, yet all your senses made you feel as thought you were the sanest person alive. The anticipation felt so painful and you could feel Jaemin’s stare on you both. 

With a tender sigh, your eyes closed shut as you grabbed the collar of his jacket, pulling him into you. 

Your lips collided in a fervent kiss, your fingers tangled in his hair, tugging it ever so slightly, causing him to groan into your mouth as his hand supported the back of your head, tilting it slightly as your desire and passion fused together, transcending your surroundings. 

You couldn’t hear the whistling or screaming around your surroundings, your mind completely gave in to the pretty boy, who was kissing you like his life depended upon it. 

His lips were soft, perfectly moulding against yours as you moved them in harmony, letting the sheer pleasure take over your senses to the point you couldn’t differentiate between whether you were drunk which made you feel as if you were in the state of unadulterated ecstasy or it was simply Jeno’s effect on your body. 

You didn’t pay attention to Jaemin, who threw the beer can on the floor, walking away from the room, nor did you care about Linda who ran after him. 

All you knew was that Lee Jeno was kissing you and he was exceptionally amazing at it. 

He squeezes your waist as you gasped, letting him bite your lower lip, lacking his usual self control as he mentally claimed you to be too intoxicating for him. 

“Hey! Get a fucking room!” Renjun shouted. 

That was enough for you to break the kiss, your eyes still closed as your chest heaved up and down, blood rushing to your cheeks as you felt tingly all over, the shiver going down your spine all the way to your abdomen. 

Jeno was already staring at you by the time your eyes fluttered open. His lips looked plump, slightly swollen from how you had kissed him, the veins on his neck seemed even more prominent but his eyes—they were dark, laced with lust. 

He didn’t wish to stop. 

You didn’t want him to stop. 

He got up from the chair, making you stand up along with him, his fingers quick to intertwine with yours as he pulled you with him, your wide eyes drifting to look at Karina who only winked at you, giving a thumbs up alongside it. 

“Jeno,” you breathed, following him out and into an empty room, which he locked before pushing you against the wooden door. 

You could barely stand given how weak your knees felt at that exact moment. It most certainly didn’t help that Jeno bent down to your level, the dim lights of the room making his skin shine as he asked you again. 

“Why were you avoiding me, Y/n?” His tone gave you goosebumps when you heard your name roll out of his tongue. 

Forming sentences felt like a tough job when his lips were borderline touching yours, “because,” you whispered mindlessly, wrapping your arms around his neck, “I couldn’t stop thinking about you.” Your voice was quiet, just like the room, which made it sound louder than intended as you looked him up through your lashes. 

His jaw was clenched, you could notice him breathing deep, his hold on you tight and you chuckled deeply, alcohol taking over your senses, “I can’t stop thinking of you, Jeno.”

You didn’t let him reply before you pressed your lips onto his, your bodies pressed against each other, mouths moving as your lips melded and parted, his hands all over your body, every touch igniting a spark in you. 

He tapped your thigh twice and you got the memo, jumping into his arms as he picked you up with ease, muscles flexing in the process but his lips never left yours while he walked towards the bed, helping you lie down as he got on top of you, your legs wrapping around his waist as your dress started riding up your thigh. 

He leaned back, eyes fixated on yours but you only continued to pepper kisses along his jawline, and down his neck, making him growl as he stopped you from unbuttoning his shirt. 

“You’re drunk, baby. I don’t want you to regret anything in the morning,” he says softly, breathing in your scent as he inhales deeply. 

“I’m not,” you whined, switching your positions to be sitting in front of him, trying to remove his jacket, before he stops you with his fingers wrapping around your wrist. 

He cupped your cheek as you looked at him sadly, “tell me, do you not want me?” You’d ask, playing with his necklace. 

“Fuck,” he muttered. He couldn’t hold himself back, not when your eyes sparkled with innocence and undeniable glimmer of need, “you have no idea, darling,” he chuckles, running his thumb on your lower lip, which was still wet from your kiss, “I want you so fucking much.”

That was enough for you to smile at him, eyes hazy as you slid off the bed and got on your knees, unbuckling his belt as you fumbled with the button of his jeans while Jeno couldn’t believe this was happening. 

The strap of your dress slid down, revealing more of your cleavage, that’s exactly when you helped him get out of his jeans, revealing his boxers. Your fingers grazed his clothed cock, your lips tugging up as you saw him groan, even more so when you kissed his semi-hardened cock. 

His eyes never left yours during the entire time you teased him, getting his leather jacket off, leaving him in his white button up and boxers, which you pulled down in a go. 

A shiver went down your abdomen, making you close your thighs with how big he was. His cock was hard, leaking with precum that made your mouth water. He had the biggest cock you had ever witnessed in your life, girth and veiny too. 

He sucks in a sharp breath when you take him in your small hand, squeezing it a smidge before planting featherlight kisses all over his length, swirling your tongue around his head, he bit his lip as he took the scene in front of him. You licked big stripes of his length before taking his head into your mouth. 

That snapped him out of his daze, he couldn’t take your teasing any longer. Pushing himself up slightly, he spread his legs to accommodate your body between it as he grabbed your nape, gathering your hair in a makeshift ponytail as you took him in, your hands stroking the base where your lips couldn’t reach. 

“Just like that, sweetheart,” he growled, pushing your head to hold his cock in you even deeper. 

You can’t help but think how he looks nothing like his sweet self in the given moment, he looks like a devil who’s thirsting for lust, his eyes dark and so immersed in your activities. 

His length throbs in your mouth as you continue your ministrations, quickening your pace as you sucked him off with all you had, hearing him growl made you realize how your panties were soaking wet when you release him with a satisfying pop sound, looking up at him again.

He sat straighter, his thumb wiping the saliva that was all over your chin and lips before pulling you up on the bed, spreading your legs to see a wet patch on your panties as you struggled to take your dress off. 

He chuckled deeply, “Oh, bunny. Let me help you with that,” he says cursing once he sees you without any bra, his fingers tracing your neck, your clavicle and goes down all the way to play with your tits. 

However, that’s not all he does. Your toes curl when he yanks your panties to the side, immersing his tongue to tease your clit before he licks and sucks you thoroughly, humming against your folds as he gets drunk on the taste of your juices. 

His tongue prods on your entrance, pushing it in as your fingers grabbed his roots, tugging on his hair which also elicited a deep groan from him, your eyes rolling back with how ecstatic you felt. 

He fucked your cunt, pushing his tongue in while his thumb worked wonders on your sensitive bundle of nerves, making you squirm around, finally moaning out, “Jeno, oh god!” You cried out. 

“That’s it baby, scream my name,” he whispers against you, the moist squelching noises filling up the room as you arched your back, your body shaking with how you could feel your high approaching, as he yearned for your pussy, not stopping once, as if he had completely plunged his body to focus on your pleasure and your pleasure only. 

You chanted his name as if it was a mantra you had to recite, and that’s exactly when you felt your stomach tightening, a teardrop leaving the corner of your eye, cascading down your neck as you allowed yourself to feel the unadulterated bliss Jeno provided you with. 

It wasn’t the alcohol, you admitted. 

You were drunk on Jeno. 

You breathed in deeply as he licked you up, finally getting up as he rolled your nipples between the rough pads of his fingers before he also removed his last article of clothing, leaving you to see the shadow of his abs and pecs clearly. 

“Tell me you won’t regret this in the morning, baby,” he breathes out, searching your eyes as his length brushes against your sensitive cunt. 

“I won’t,” you promised, “I want you, I need you, Jeno,” you cried out as his eyes turned hooded. 

He silenced your loud moan with his lips on yours, your nails digging into his back as he gave a sharp thrust, filling you up till he bottomed out easily with how wet you were, kissing your tears away and giving you a minimum of two seconds before he grabbed your wrists, holding them above your head. 

“Do you know how pretty you look right now, bunny?” He asks, giving you another sharp thrust, this particular one hitting your g-spot, which had you whimpering out his name, “all mine, yeah?” He asks, thrusting harder, his hips slapping your ass. 

“Y—yours!” You managed to speak, eyes closing shut with pleasure. 

“Open your eyes, baby. Look at me when I fuck your pretty little cunt,” he whispers as your wail out when his cock hits your cervix. 

He takes his time to kiss and mark your neck, his teeth digging in as he sucks on your sensitive skin harsh enough to leave marks. 

It was effortless how he moved in and out of you so easily despite groaning about how tight your little hole was and you felt dumb, you couldn’t think, you couldn’t speak. You just knew one thing and that was Jeno. 

He manhandled you easily, turning you around and lifting your ass up, your face buried into the pillow as your mascara smudged, just how your lipstick was smudged all over your cheeks. 

He thrusted into you yet again, smacking your ass as he saw it jiggle with the impact, another moan reverberated the room, which made him spank you twice more before he started fucking you again, your walls clenching around him with need as he gave you almost brutal backshots. 

“I’m—Fuck!” You cried out, almost passing out as you breathed in deeply. 

You both were so close, his cock twitched in you as his thrusts got sharper, “go on, bunny. Cream my cock like a good fucking girl,” he growled. 

You withered beneath him as you screamed out his name with sheer pleasure as you reached your high, coating his cock with your juices before he also moaned deeply, fucking his cum into your glistening pussy. 

He breathed in deeply as he pulled out, staring at your cunt which was dripping with your juices mixed together. 

He sighed softly, holding you in his arms, “baby,” he whispered softly as you initiated a soft kiss, getting on his lap again as your heart beat rose up to the point you could hear it in your ears while Jeno felt the same way. 

He could see how exhausted you were by how you started dozing off in his arms. He didn’t know what would happen tomorrow, he didn’t want to know. All he wanted was to have you in his arms now and freeze the time. 

It took him time to get up as he helped you get dressed up again, before he picked you up in his arms, getting down to see the party winding up. You were asleep and cuddling into him, his heart still racing as he saw Yunjin smiling at you two, “take her home with you,” she said, “and you better take care of her,” she added as a genuine warning, which made Jeno nod earnestly. 

He would never hurt you.  

He really was perfect with how he took you to his room safely, with how he tried to remove your makeup even though he had no idea what he was doing, yet he was gentle as you slept with how drunk and exhausted you were. He made sure to change your clothes to his loose ones, just so you would sleep comfortably. 

He had fucked you, however he still was respectful and tried to not look your way while he changed your clothes. 

You looked so peaceful as you snuggled close to his pillow in his bed, he couldn’t help but stare at you with a soft smile as he kissed your forehead, “sleep well, baby.” He whispered as he slid under the covers next to you, holding you as if he was scared he’d lose you, his body shivering ever so slightly at the thought as he cradled you in his arms. 

Jeno really was perfect. 

Your body was sore, the sunlight almost blinding you, adding on to the throbbing pain in your head as you shifted around the covers, opening your eyes with a groan to find yourself in unfamiliar surroundings. 

A low cry left your lips as the memories of the past night flooded into your mind, the graphic details of Jeno and you, the way he had asked you if you’d regret it. 

You didn’t regret a thing. 

And neither did you know how you’d face him after this. Yes, everything that started off as a fake relationship but even you couldn’t deny that none of it felt fake to you. 

Butterflies erupted in your stomach as you saw a little note on the nightstand saying—

Good morning, sweetheart <3 Please take this medicine when you wake up and also drink the hangover soup! I’ll be at Uni and will be back by the time you wake up, love. 

“Why do you have to be so perfect?” You whined to yourself, kicking your feet, “why do you have to make me feel this way?” You whispered to yourself, gulping and looking at the medicines and a bowl of soup on the nightstand. 

You didn’t realize that you were wearing Jeno’s clothes till you spilled a little drop of soup on it, eyes widening for the nth time today as you gasped. 

You couldn’t stay anymore, you got up and rushed to grab your clothes, which were folded neatly before you changed into them with a rush, getting out of his room while you checked your phone, bumping into a hard chest. 

You winced, looking up as your expression dropped. 

Na Jaemin stood there, his eyes sad as he searched your face for some kind of emotion, any kind of emotion, however you didn’t give him anything, choosing to walk away but he was quick to grab your wrist. 

“Y/n,” he spoke your name in desperation and you tried your best not to turn around, yet you did, looking at his regret stricken face as he spoke further, “I broke up with Linda,” he started and you almost snorted. 

“Well, good for you,” you said, turning around yet again, only to be stopped. 

“Don’t fucking do this, Y/n,” he breathes, eyes watery, “I know you and Jeno aren’t dating. Come back to me, baby, I regret everything I did to you, please?” He almost begs. 

“Don’t call me that,” you seethed out, “you know nothing about us and it’s too late, Jaemin. I don’t want you.”

He didn’t let you leave, pulling you into a hug as you struggled to get away, “I know you’re angry and you don’t mean it. Let’s be together again, we used to be so happy,” he whispered. 

“And you fucking ruined it,” you cried out, pushing him away, “you ruined everything and you never cared about us! But y’know what? Jeno isn’t like you. He’s kind, caring and he’s genuine about everything,” you let out, stepping away, “I love him.” 

Saying that out loud felt like you had lifted a boulder off your chest. Your face was equally surprised as Jaemin, but you didn’t stay any longer, shaking your head as you rushed out of the apartment and got into the safety of your own dorm. 

You loved Jeno. 

And you were sure he didn’t feel the same, it was all fake for him. You sat in your bathtub for hours, pondering and mentally slapping yourself for letting this happen but it was beyond you. Jeno was so easy to love. 

What scared you the most that he hadn’t called you once, nor did he reply to any of your texts throughout the day. Your heart broke into pieces when he didn’t show up in front of your dorm to pick you up. 

You were sure he hated you for drunkenly acting up that night, maybe that’s why he kept avoiding you. You had ruined everything. 

The plan for the day wasn’t to attend the classes, but to find Jeno. Every second that passed by without him talking to you felt like a punishment, as if your anxiety would eat you up through and through. 

He wasn’t by the lawns, he wasn’t in the cafeteria and you could feel your eyes welling up with tears of frustration when you couldn’t find Jeno. Yet you didn’t lose hope as you thought that he’d be in his lectures. 

A big smile etched your face when you found him standing in front of his locker and you sprinted his way, which startled him. It was as if he didn’t expect to see you in front of him, his eyes leaving yours for a second before he smiled at you. 

It was forced. 

“Jeno,” you breathed out as you felt fidgety, “can we talk?” 

He bit his lower lip, not answering for a few seconds before he nodded, guiding you towards the rooftop for privacy, not uttering a word throughout the way. 

You stood side by side, watching the cloudy sky as he finally looked your way, “congratulations,” he let out, trying to smile. 

You looked at him, confused which only made him speak further. 

“I saw you and Jaemin hugging,” his voice broke but he gained his composure, “I know you’re probably back together now and you don’t need me—”

“Jeno,” you whispered, shaking your head as you stepped closer to stop him, yet he continued. 

“We don’t have to fake date anymore,” he nodded, looking at his feet, “I’m glad I could help you forget about him for some time and also with your revenge—”

You were on the verge of crying by now as you whispered his name again. 

“I’m so stupid to have thought that maybe it won’t be fake, but I know you want Jaemin—”

“Don’t you fucking see that I want you? Jaemin and I talked, yes we did and I told him I don’t want him. I don’t fucking want him, Jeno. You’re not a rebound to me, This isn’t fake to me anymore, I don’t think it ever felt fake to me,” you let out your frustrations, shutting him up fully. 

“My heart feels like it would beat out of my chest every fucking time I’m near you, this longing intensifies each day and it scares me so much,” a crystalline tear escaped your eyes and Jeno was quick to cup your face, as if on instinct and wipe it away, “you do this sweet things no one ever did for me, you remember the smallest details about me and I feel restless when we don’t talk. I’ve grown so used to being around you, it’s not fucking fake. I think—I’m falling in love with you Jeno,” you finally let out. 

“You—you love me?” He asks, voice barely a whisper as he finds it hard to breathe and you nod, his slender fingers still cupping your cheek, “you hugged Jaemin—”

“I pushed him away,” you said in a beat, “he hugged me, I didn’t,” you assured him, grabbing his hand which rested on your cheek, “I told him I love you.”

Jeno pulled you in his embrace, his body shook slightly which broke your heart thinking how he had it all wrong, you never wanted to see him hurt, just like how he always wished for you to be happy. 

He held you tighter, making you feel safe as warmth bloomed up your chest, “I liked you ever since I saw you painting with Renjun on the day we met, but Jaemin was faster to reach out to you,” he confesses and you part your mouth with surprise as he leaned back to look at you, chuckling ever so lightly, “I hated how he treated you but when you came to me for help, I got selfish and used this to get closer to you, even if it meant that I’d have to fake date you,” he muttered, pressing his forehead against yours, “but I fell harder each day, even more so when I had to hold your hand and it felt so small against mine yet it fit perfectly, when you dressed up so beautifully for a fake date with me, when you looked so adorable in my jacket, when you remembered my birthday and my likes which even I hadn’t noticed before. I fell in love with you, baby,” he smiled through the tears as you pulled him in for a kiss, both of you smiling uncontrollably as it full of tenderness and affection, your hearts beating together as you shared unspoken promises through it. 

You weren’t fake dating anymore as you looked at him with a silly smile, taking the document of your agreement out before scratching out a line. 

Rule number one: Don’t fall in love. 

THANK YOU FOR READING

dedicated to @jayzdaze just like i promised <3

TAGS: @celeste-hoon @ddeonuism @angleticaaa @girlwholovekpop

You two had some to drink, Jeno was on his second bottle of soju but his tolerance is pretty high so you assumed that he was still pretty sober. Maybe it still helped that he had a little liquor to pump up his courage. 

“Have I ever told you that I think you’re really pretty?” he asked, as he leaned closer to look at your face. Although his neck was slightly red, his eyes were clear and genuine. 

You, on the other hand, just downed your first bottle when he said that. You were not a bad drinker, but you’re not the best drinker either. You were tipsy to say the least, so you laughed and pushed his face away, telling him to shut up while doing so. 

“No, like, seriously.” 

“No… Actually, yes, once. At our highschool prom, but I hated my dress that night.”

“Ah, right. I always thought you were really pretty though, like all the time.” He took a swing of soju after he completed his sentence.

You frown, genuinely confused even in your tipsy state. You could feel your heart thumping steadily in your chest. The thumping rang loudly in your ears, you can’t tell if it was because of the alcohol in your system or the words that Jeno just said. You wondered if he could hear how obnoxiously loud your heart was beating. 

He looked at you and chuckled at your expression, shaking his head before mumbling a soft, “nevermind”. 

“You’re drunk,” you said, taking a sip from your newly opened bottle, all the while trying to excuse what he said as drunken words. Then you remembered that people were a lot more honest when they’re drunk and you want to slap yourself in the face. 

“Maybe, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to make things weird.” 

You shook your head, meaning to tell him that it was fine. 

Your conversation drifted into other things. About how finals sucked ass, how you don’t know how you’re going to pass your data analytics class. He talked about training, about how he can’t feel his legs sometimes after skating in the rink for so long. Then, you two talked about the future. 

“I hope we could still be this close after we graduate,” you tell him, pulling his hand towards you and holding it. You two held hands often, not outside when you’re walking in the streets like a couple. But in special, heartfelt times like this. 

Jeno first held your hand during your highschool prom, when your parents insisted on taking multiple photos of you two together, even though both of you had your own dates. You two still danced together that night, just for sentimental purposes. 

You held his hand when he lost his first ice hockey match in college. He really didn’t play well that day, you held his hand to lift him off the ground where he sat to sulk after the game. And held his hand a while more after that, just to provide some solace. 

“We will be, you have nothing to worry about.” Jeno assured you without hesitation. 

The night continued on and you were dozing off on the sofa, so Jeno started cleaning up a bit. He started by disposing of the empty pizza boxes that were lying on the coffee table. He cleared the soju bottles too and by then, he was sure you were knocked out on the sofa. And needless to say, he was right. 

He tried to nudge you softly awake to bring you to your bed, but you only whined in protest. So his last resort was to carry you, which he was used to doing on nights like this. You were awoken by suddenly being lifted off the sofa but kept your eyes closed because your mind was too tired to fight the drowsiness that the soju brought. 

Jeno placed you gently down on your bed and got dragged down along with your arms that circled around his neck. You knew damn well how bad you look drunk and maybe it was liquor courage helping you this time, because you spoke before you could think of stopping yourself. 

“Even now, you think I’m pretty?” 

Jeno’s face was mere inches away from yours, you could feel his breath on your cheeks and smell the alcohol that stuck to your bodies. And if Jeno was anyone else, he might just kiss you right now. But he was not going to do that to you, especially not when you’re drunk. He convinced himself that he would save this for another time, if fate allowed it. 

But you are not Jeno and you lack the self-control that he possessed. You stared at his lips, his pink and pretty lips. And since your arms were still wrapped securely around his neck, you began to pull him in. 

However, he tugs at your arms lightly, freeing himself from your hold and continues to tuck you in. 

In that moment, the slight embarrassment began to set in and you let him go. 

“I’m sorry, I didn’t mean t-” you started but was cut off by Jeno. 

“y/n, it’s fine. Trust me, I want it too. But not like that, you’re tipsy and I don’t want us to do something you might regret tomorrow.” 

You only nodded as a reply, not really knowing what to think. Because yet again, your heart was thumping so loudly, you couldn’t comprehend what he just said or what he meant. 

“But to answer your question, yes. Even now I think you’re pretty, I always think you’re pretty,” he replied with the smile that reached his eyes. 

He pats your head, like he does every time he puts you to bed when you’re drunk. Except that this time, you’re not asleep yet. And you stare at him, smiling endearingly down at you. With the soothing way Jeno is patting you, you gradually fall into a sleepy state. 

With the amount of soju in your system, it was no wonder that you eventually fell asleep despite all the emotions that sent your thoughts spiralling. The last thing you remembered was Jeno continuously patting your head as you drifted off to sleep. When Jeno was sure you fell asleep – signalled by your slowed and deep breaths – he gave in a little and pecked you lightly on the forehead. This would be his little secret that he would bring to his grave. 

And that was how the night ended. Jeno went to wash up and came back to sleep on the foldable mattress you always had in your room for when he sleeps over. Tonight however, the thought of the girl sleeping on the bed beside him was busy keeping him up all night. 

 You woke up feeling a little groggy but nothing yet close to a hangover. Still, Jeno left hangover tablets on your bedside table like he always does, along with a cup of water. And as you take the tablets, you realise that Jeno wasn’t in the room. 

You went to wash up and still, no Jeno in sight. Your roommate was also not home yet. 

You went back to your room to make your bed and paused when you remembered what happened yesterday. There’s no way Jeno just left like that, right? 

Just then, you hear the opening and closing of your apartment door and you walk out to see Jeno. He had his glasses on and was wearing a baseball cap, along with his hoodie and sweatpants that he left in your apartment from his previous visit. 

He looked at you as he held up the all too familiar Starbucks bag and gently shook it, chuckling at how relieved you looked. You really needed some coffee, after a night of drinks and also to prepare yourself for the conversation you were going to have with Jeno. 

You know how there’s this belief that girls and guys can’t be ‘just friends’, let alone best friends? You always thought this didn’t apply to you and Jeno. He was your best friend and that was it. That was until he got his first girlfriend. It was then that you realised that maybe he wasn’t just a best friend to you.  

You wouldn’t say that you got jealous. But you got pretty close to it, you never mentioned it to Jeno though. But you were sure that it showed somehow. 

On Jeno’s end, the relationship wasn’t what he imagined it to be. His girlfriend was great and she really liked him and he would say that he really liked her too. Then, how come he keeps thinking about you even when he’s with her? They broke up eventually because Jeno was training too often to spend enough time with her. 

When you started dating someone too, Jeno didn’t look like he was jealous. And to be completely honest, he wasn’t. He was more angry than jealous. Because your boyfriend was so insecure about your friendship with Jeno that he was manipulating you to try and mess with your friendship. However, your friendship with Jeno was stronger than these tactics. Thankfully, you were smart enough to break things off before it got out of hand. You were still heartbroken though, and you wouldn’t stop crying for days. 

All Jeno could do back then was bring you the food you liked and stayed with you till you felt better. 

Both of you knew that your friendship wasn’t as simple as you two hoped for it to be.

And now, the two of you were seated at your dining table, facing each other. You took a sip of your warm coffee, feeling much better than when you just woke up. Coffee works like magic for keeping you awake and energised for most days, but you believe there’s no cup of coffee strong enough to prepare you for the conversation you’re about to have with Jeno. 

He was tapping his coffee cup, staring at every little thing in your tiny apartment except you. 

You took in a deep breath and gave yourself a quick mental pep talk and finally spoke. 

“Don’t you have something you want to tell me?” 

His eyes averted from the window behind you as he looked you in the eyes and pressed his lips tightly together. He held his coffee cup with both hands as he straightened his back, as if preparing to speak. 

“Ah… that, last night was just…I was… I didn’t really know what I was doing.” 

You looked at him with your eyebrows raised, obviously taken aback. Was he about to pretend like nothing happened last night? Who does he think you are? You two have been best friends for years and he thinks you wouldn’t pick up when he’s lying? 

The way he’s rubbing his thumbs together anxiously and the way he can’t even look you in the eye after saying what he said. 

“You’re lying!” you accused him loudly. 

His eyes widened, like how they always do when he starts to get defensive. 

“What? I’m not!” He quickly refutes before his lips fall into a pout. He has a tendency to pout unknowingly when he bickers with you. And it triggers something in you, you let the words slip out before you even thought to stop yourself. 

“Then how did we end up almost kissing last night?” 

After you realised what you said, your face fell and you instantly felt your fight, flight, freeze response kick in and since you couldn’t hide anywhere in this tiny apartment, you froze.

Jeno opened his mouth as if to say something only to close it. His eyes averted briefly down to your lips before catching himself and looking you in the eye again. A light hue of pink spreaded across his cheeks and you were sure your expression mirrored his too. 

After a few seconds of neither of you speaking, Jeno sighed. 

“I’m not lying though, I really didn’t know what came over me. I’m just… I’m really conflicted y/n. I don’t know what to do.” He said as he leaned back against the chair, putting both his hands in the pockets of his hoodie. 

You felt yourself frown slightly, “Why? Are we not on the same page? You like me too…right?” 

Jeno pushed his glasses up in an attempt to hide his smile behind his hand, then his expression turned serious again. His worries threaten to overwhelm him again. 

“I-i do.” 

He finally admitted it. He finally lets you know and he felt like he was going to explode. So he does the only thing he knows to do and let his body take control. He pushed the chair back and stood up abruptly. You look up at him, confused as to what he is about to do. 

Jeno took five quick steps to your sofa and plopped himself onto it, face first (with his glasses still on his face, man is fearless). You can’t help but let out a laugh, standing up from the dining table to walk over to him. 

You pulled a cushion out from under him and whacked him gently with it multiple times, “What the fuck is wrong with you? Get up and talk to me properly like a man!” You playfully mocked him. 

He lifted himself up from his lying position to grab another cushion to shield himself. “Okay, okay, stop it,” he protested in between your attacks. 

He swiftly pulls the cushion out of your hands and drags you down to sit beside him. You were now face to face again, but closer now, without the dining table separating you two. 

“I just don’t want things to change. I love how things are but I also want more. But I’m afraid of wanting more. What if things don’t go well? What if I end up losing my best friend?” He tells you while looking into your eyes. The air in the room stills as he waits for your reply. 

You could tell by the look in his eyes that he probably thought of the worst case scenario over and over again already. You have similar concerns too. 

Movies and books always make falling in love with your best friend look so magical. And in your case, it kind of is magical. It’s a good thing that both you and Jeno have fallen for each other. But he’s right, who knows if things will go well? At the same time, how could you rule out the chance that this could be the best thing to happen with the two of you? 

It is completely normal that Jeno was conflicted. But you didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity in the name of ‘not ruining the friendship’. So you did the only thing you knew could put his mind at ease and assure him. 

You wrapped your arms around his neck and pulled him into a hug. You felt his shoulders relax as his arms circled your waist, bringing you closer to him. “We’ll just have to make it work then. We’ll be fine… great even. We’ll be the best couple ever, I promise.” You assured him best you could, even though you shared the same concerns. But they didn’t matter right now. 

You felt him chuckle against you as you pulled away to look at him, arms still around his shoulders. “Then, I promise I’ll take care of your heart from now on if you let me,” he whispers loud enough for you to hear as he leans his forehead against yours. It was both the cheesiest and the sweetest thing you have heard coming from Jeno.

You can’t help but scrunch your nose – something you did often when you get flustered. “Don’t get shy with me now, you wanted me to talk to you about it like a man.” 

“Are you always going to be this cheesy? Because I can’t promise I won’t just laugh in your face when you say things like this.” You tell him as you push him away lightly to hide your flustered face. 

“Hey, I’m trying my best to be a good boyfriend here, plus I’m actually being serious too,” the both of you couldn’t help but laugh at the absurdity of the past ten minutes. Less than half a day ago you two were seated on this same sofa hanging out as best friends. And now, you’re two blushing adults, revealing your ‘long-hidden secret’. 

“So, you’re my boyfriend now, huh? Since when? You didn’t even ask.” You teased, realising how he very smoothly self-proclaimed the title. 

He rolled his eyes as he pushed his glasses up again and cleared his throat. 

“Will you be my girlfriend?” He mumbled while looking away. 

“What was that?” You frowned exaggeratedly while cupping your right ear, pretending you didn’t hear him. 

“My dear y/n, will you be my girlfriend? Before I consider retracting the offer,” he said with gritted teeth. You gasped at the audacity of this man and he laughed at your reaction. 

“Fine, fine. I’ll be your girlfriend, don’t retract the offer,” you replied in fake reluctance. 

The two of you hugged again, and you felt yourself melting into his arms, the cups of coffee left forgotten on the dining table. The hug fell into a half an hour long cuddle that consisted of the first few awkward minutes of trying to get into a comfortable cuddling position. With the rest of the time you two fell into comfortable conversation, it’s like nothing really changed. And yet, everything has. 

You two talked about how things will be like from now on and realised that it’ll pretty much be the same, just better. Because you two don’t have to resist your feelings anymore. The secret is out and you can both relish in the fact that you can openly express your love for the other now. 

The next few weeks went by and the two of you were inseparable, just like in highschool. When both your schedule permits, you would have meals together in school. He crashes at your apartment more often than you did at his place since your roommate walked in on the two of you cuddling in your room once. No doubt, you were teased to death everyday for at least a week after she found out. 

If that sounds bad, you can’t even begin to imagine how the boys would react if they found out. Which is why you and Jeno rarely slept over at his place anymore, because to his friends, you two were very much still merely best friends. 

However, you were over at his place one day after your classes because you missed his stupid face after not seeing him for two days straight. Jeno said he would drop by your place once he was done playing his video games. But you knew that meant that he might turn up at midnight and for the sake of your sanity (being a college student is not easy, sigh pie) , you could not afford to have another late night this week. 

He also informed you that most of the boys had club activities or were out today. So here you were, sitting on his bed, reading one of your course texts while he played his ‘last round’ of this video game on his computer. He has been on the said last round for the past hour and you were sure you saw him die and respawn more than once already. 

“Lee Jeno…” you called out through gritted teeth, burning holes on the back of his head with your glare. 

“Yes baby?” He replied while his fingers moved frantically across his keyboard. 

“Can’t you spend some time with me while I’m here?” You said as you got up to stand beside him, gently running your hand through his dark hair, while watching his progress in the game. 

You always had a habit of ruffling his hair even from back in highschool. In the past, it was an act of simple teasing. You used to do it especially when he was sulking over something, like when you pretended to forget his birthday. When really, you were planning to surprise him with some of his friends. Or when he got upset over you not wanting to go to get ice cream with him at three in the morning because you wanted to sleep. 

Recently however, it has turned into something more natural and affectionate. Like the effortless expression of longing and love for this man, who was both your best friend and your lover. 

“Alright, this will be the last one. Promise.” He said as he tried to move out of the enemy's line of vision. Only to get shot when he turned the corner. He sighed and slumped onto his chair from his previously upright position. 

“See, told you it would be the last round,” he looked up at you from the position on his chair and smiled, the kind that turned his eyes into crescents. The realisation that he had you waiting for an hour finally hits him and he was trying to be all cute and clingy now that you’re visibly on the brink of being annoyed. 

You rolled your eyes at him and complained about how he has been saying that since an hour ago and he only laughs and pulls you onto his lap. He has a habit of doing this now that you two are together. He would ease your annoyance about his gaming by having you close to him. Sometimes he would have you on his lap and you two would snuggle close like this for a while before he went back to gaming while you got comfortable on his lap, with a book in hand. 

The two of you naturally fell into conversation about your respective days up once you stopped nagging at him about his gaming ‘addiction’, to which he would whine about how you sound like his mum. You like to respond to that by ensuring him that you would definitely tell on him when the two of you went home to visit your parents over the semester break. 

As your conversation flowed, Jeno filled you in on his ice hockey training schedule, while drawing circles on your thigh as you continued stroking the back of his hair. 

 “Season begins next month, so trainings are going to pick up. But my weekends are free, so we can hang out on those days,” he said with a hint of worry in his voice. 

Jeno started playing ice hockey in highschool, since he had always loved to ice skate. In your junior year, Jeno was appointed as vice-captain of the team, alongside Mark, who was the senior captain. When Mark graduated, Jeno stepped up as captain in his senior year and led the team to victory in the championships for the third year in a row. 

To say Jeno was passionate about the sport was an understatement. Jeno loves ice hockey more than anything and always tried his best to improve even though he was already a phenomenal player. And you loved watching him play, you wouldn’t miss a game ever since you first watched him during your sophomore year. As his best friend, you would cheer the loudest when he played well and was there to support him after his lower moments in the rink. 

But you could tell from the tone of his voice that he was worried that training would take away too much of his time with you. Even though you didn’t want him to worry about something so minor, it made your heart flutter quite a bit. 

“Jen, don’t even worry about it. We’ll work around it, besides, I’ll be at every game so you better train well to win!” You told him as you reached to hold his face in your hands, emphasising your point. 

“Oh, bet.” He retorted confidently, following up with a question you knew was coming. 

“And what would I get if I do win? Hm?” he asked cheekily pulling you closer to him. 

“We’ll see about that when you do win,” you responded, refusing to give in to his antics just yet. 

“Well, I’ll suggest that a kiss like this will suffice as a good example of a celebratory gift,” Jeno said as he pulled you in gently by the neck and kissed you. You could feel him smile against your lips as you kissed him back. 

In the weeks since you became a couple, kissing quickly became something that happened naturally. Having Jeno’s soft lips against yours was not a foreign occurrence by now, and yet every time your lips met his, you could not stop your heart from beating faster and faster with the passing of each second. 

He kisses you gently, carefully, like he was savouring every second of the kiss. Jeno’s lips felt ever so soft as they moved against yours, and you felt your heart swell as if it could explode any minute. He pulled away briefly, his eyes never leaving yours. He pushed your thighs away ever so slightly to give you enough space to reposition yourself so that you were now straddling him. 

Then he began as quickly as he stopped, pulling you close by your waist to claim your lips again. This kiss, more intense than the last. Little shivers of pleasure shot through you as Jeno deepened the kiss, parting your lips. You had one hand on his shoulder to steady yourself on his lap as the other hand dug into his locks. 

Jeno’s warm hands slid under your shirt, caressing your smooth skin and his touch sent tingles down your spine. Giddiness took over the two of you as you parted again, as Jeno stared at you with a dumbstruck smile on his face. You began to catch your breath, and just when you thought he was done, his hands claimed a firm grip on your bare hips and he lifted you off his lap like you weighed nothing. 

Your legs wrapped around his waist as you let out a yelp, shocked from the sudden movement. He began making his way to the foot of his bed and you prepared for the impact of landing on it. With his face so close to yours, he tenderly pecked your nose before leaning in to kiss you once again. 

His fingers skimmed over the soft skin of your back as your arms tightened around his neck. Jeno always kissed you like his life depended on it and you returned his kisses with the same longing and intimacy. With Jeno, you finally understood why people always described kissing as melting. You felt like every part of your being was dissolving into him, becoming one. 

You feel Jeno’s body leaning forward, and you instinctively hold him closer, ready to crash onto the soft duvet. Instead, you hear the slight creaking of the door and a sharp gasp. Jeno pushed your body away and onto his bed. You landed on the very edge of it, almost toppling over when you catch a glimpse of Jaemin standing by the door with his mouth agape. 

“I’m so sorry,” he managed to mutter out. But Jaemin's shock visibly turned into amusement as he chuckled under his breath. He let a few more snickers out as he began to excuse himself from the room, closing the door on his way out. 

Before he closes the door fully, he pops his head back in, “I won’t tell the rest, but you have to tell me everything later,” he gleefully tells Jeno, with the biggest smile on his face. 

“Okay, fine. Please leave. Now.” Jeno says through gritted teeth as he walks towards the door to try and shove Jaemin out. You watch as the two boys struggle at the door before Jaemin gives up and leaves, Jeno locking the door behind him. 

“I can’t believe what just happened,” Jeno uttered as he ran his hand through his hair. 

“I can’t believe you just dropped me like that,” you said while laughing as Jeno chuckled with you, apologising as he walked towards you to pull you up to your feet. 

“I thought you said none of them were home,” you asked when you two calmed from being caught. To which Jeno could only shrug, “I thought so too.” 

“Well whatever, I’ll bear the teasing if it means I can hug you around the house now.” 

Jeno gave you a quick peck and engulfed you in a hug. You melted into his hold and hugged him back, swaying slowly as you two stayed like this until Jeno’s phone vibrated on his nightstand. 

He let you go to check the notification and you leaned in to look at the screen, only to turn red from the message. 

- 5:25pm -

NANA🐰: “don’t forget to use protection ;)” 

“This little fucker… WE’RE NOT DOING ANYTHING!” Jeno shouted loud enough for Jaemin to hear it from outside and the two of you could hear Jaemin’s cackling laughter as a response. 

Jeno continued cursing under his breath before he plopped himself onto his bed. You laughed at his reaction and joined him. The evening ended with cuddling and the occasional exchange of kisses, but every cuddling session had to come to an end somehow. You had an early lecture tomorrow morning and you had to go back to have an early night. 

Jeno tried to convince you to stay the night, even offering to drive you to class if you do. As tempting as it was, you rejected his offer. You knew he had a long day tomorrow, with training after his classes. You weren’t going to have him get up early to drive you to class when he could be sleeping in. So you told him he could sleepover at your place soon and he was satisfied with that for tonight. 

He walked you to the door, since you also rejected his offer to drive you to your apartment. It wouldn’t take long and you were going to meet your roommate at the bus stop to walk home together anyways. 

When you two left the room, all the boys were already back home. And Jaemin was trying to hide his smile while he was sitting beside Jisung on the sofa. You bid all the boys goodbye after some small talk and went to put your shoes on. 

“Have a good rest tonight, I’ll see you soon,” Jeno said as he opened the front door. You hummed in agreement as you gave him a brief hug which you two always did. 

“Alright, I’ll see you Jen,” you said as you tip-toed to give him a quick peck on the cheek, before walking out the front door. 

“See you baby,” Jeno called out one last time as he waved you goodbye. He couldn’t help but smile as he watched and waved until you entered the lift. He finally locks the front door and turns to walk back to his room. However, he can’t help but feel the stare from six pairs of curious eyes behind him as he walks past them. 

He turns to look at his friends staring at him, frowning before muttering out a confused “what”. 

“Did you just call y/n…baby?” Renjun asked with wide eyes, to which Jeno froze, realising that the boys saw the whole interaction and the two of you were too infatuated to even remember to keep up the “we’re-just-best-friends” act in front of them. 

“And did y/n kiss you on the cheek before she left?” Mark questioned when Jeno failed to answer the first question. 

“Trust me, they’ve done more than that-” Jaemin began to say as Jeno’s fight or flight kicked in and he tackled Jaemin on the sofa to cover his mouth before he splurts out anything else. But Jaemin has exposed enough to send Chenle cooing and Haechan frantically asking when this even fucking happened. 

Jeno spent the next two hours sitting on his living room floor, getting interrogated by his friends. Half of him wants to punch himself for letting the act collapse in front of his friends like this. But the other half of him was glad it was finally out. With how he couldn’t stop himself from smiling when he told the boys about you to how happy the boys were to see the two of you finally get together despite all the teasing, Jeno was the happiest he has ever been in a while. 

a/n: this was originally going to be written, but I eventually scrapped that idea and thought it'd be more fun in this format. If this is not your cup of tea, then feel free to click off! I have two written pieces for dream linked on my navigation if you'd like to read something else 💖 but for those who are interested, I hope you'll enjoy this one!

disclaimer: none of this is meant to represent anyone in real life. This is purely fictional and for entertainment purposes only.

PROFILES 1 | PROFILES 2

CHAPTER 1: 👉🏼👌🏼

CHAPTER 2: retirement plan: secured ✅

CHAPTER 3: not livin' la vida loca

CHAPTER 4: it’s the star sign 😎

CHAPTER 5: hoes (respectfully) before bros 🫡

CHAPTER 6: un-kys or wtvr

CHAPTER 7: absolutely no home training

CHAPTER 8: castrated ❎ neutered ✅

CHAPTER 9: bonking > fucking

CHAPTER 10: got my shit rocked (REAL)

CHAPTER 11: young whipper snapper 🎣‼️

CHAPTER 12: 🐓🧱❓

CHAPTER 13: wattpad core

CHAPTER 14: ok disco pang pang 🫨

CHAPTER 15: Congratulations, Manager Lee.

CHAPTER 16 (Interlude): Manager Lee & The Girls™️

CHAPTER 17: Za Woka Genava

CHAPTER 18: KAY-WHY-ESS.

CHAPTER 19: chismosa-virus 🤠

CHAPTER 20: M*rk L**

CHAPTER 21: cross my dick and swear to balls

CHAPTER 22: y/n tunnel vision

CHAPTER 23: one dot.

CHAPTER 24: i was crazy once.

CHAPTER 25: sauce pee shoes

CHAPTER 26: Mark and Y/N? Mark and Y/N.

CHAPTER 27: i love my gf (Mark)